w5 - Superb Professors

w5

Before working on this discussion, please read the article by Shulz (2004), watch the Generation RX: Resisting the Culture of Overmedication video, and review the information in the textbook regarding psychotropic medication as well as any relevant Instructor Guidance.

For this discussion, you will enter into another conversation on an ongoing controversy and contemporary issue regarding abnormal psychology. Specifically, what is the role of “big pharma” (i.e., major pharmaceutical companies that determine the ways in which health care issues are researched and publicized) in the diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology?

It is absolutely essential to read the article by Shulz (2004) and watch the Generation RX video because they provide insights into how issues regarding psychotropic medication are depicted in popular media.

Take a moment to relate this historical background to the current ethical, clinical, and social implications when considering the use of psychotropic medication for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Interpret specific symptoms and syndromes from big pharma&rsquos advertising campaigns and critically evaluate and comment upon the necessity of these medications for the indicated psychiatric disorders.

Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. (2002). American Psychologist, 57(12), 1060-1073. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.57.12.1060. The full-text version of this article can be accessed through the EBSCOhost database in the Ashford University Library. This document contains the aspirational goals and enforceable standards that psychologists are expected to follow in their professional activities.

Shulz, K. (2004, August). Did antidepressants depress Japan? (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/22/magazine/did-antidepressants-depress-japan.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm This article explores the possible role that antidepressants and “big pharma” play in our perceptions of psychopathology. In this case, the perception of depression among people who live in Japan.

https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=52601&aid=18596&plt=FOD&loid=0&w=420&h=315&fWidth=440&fHeight=365#

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE-Cb0pi9hE (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Gilchrist, C. L. (Producer). (2008). Generation RX: Resisting the culture of overmedication [Video file]. Retrieved from the Films On Demand database. This video explores some of the controversies regarding for-profit pharmaceutical treatment of psychiatric conditions.