Diagnosing Depression and Related Mood Disorders

Learn to recognize and understand symptoms of the major DSM-5 mood disorders

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This course is designed for healthcare professionals wishing to learn more about the mood disorders. The emphasis is on the symptoms and the experience of mood disorders, rather than on causes or treatment strategies. Much of the course is geared toward diagnosis, using the formal manual criteria to evaluate client behavior and reported symptoms in the clinical setting.

Course participants receive a 30-page set of notes in pdf format that review the content of all lectures.
The lectures include:
  • The Floating Diamond Model - A strategy for parsing the depressive experience into physiological, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects. This is useful conceptually for clinicians, patients/clients, and family/friends/supporters.
  • Major Depressive Episode - Separated into lectures on a) the critical mood-related criteria, and b) the remaining criteria.
  • Diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder - A review of diagnostic strategy.
  • Nondiagnostic experiential aspects of the depression experience - Plus an examination of the manner in which symptoms self-perpetuate and magnify one another ("snowballs and reverberations").
  • Minor depression and dysthymia, or persistent depressive disorder - Including diagnostic criteria for the latter.
  • Bipolar disorders - Including strategies for diagnosis of manic and hypomanic episodes, bipolar 1 and 2 disorder, and cyclothymia.
  • Other mood disorders - Including premenstrual dysphoric disorder and the array of "miscellaneous" categories for individuals who do not meet criteria for the primary syndromes.
  • Epidemiology - A brief consideration of issues such as gender ratio, age of onset, cost of mood disorders to society, and the possibility that mood disorders are increasing in prevalence.
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Changeways Clinic is a provider of Continuing Education credits, approved by the Canadian Psychological Association. Changeways Clinic retains all responsibility for the content and provision of this program.

A Note Regarding CPA Approval: The Canadian Psychological Association's approval of an individual, group, or organization as a CE Sponsor or Provider is restricted to the activities described in the approved application or annual report form. The CPA’s approval does not extend to any other CE activity the Sponsor or Provider might offer. In granting its approval, the CPA assumes no legal or financial obligations to Sponsors, Providers, or to those individuals who might participate in a Sponsor or Provider’s CE activities or programs. Further, responsibility for the content, provision, and delivery of any CE activity approved by the CPA remains that of the CE Sponsor or Provider. The CPA disclaims all legal liability associated with the content, provision, and delivery of the approved CE activity. This program adheres to the ethical standards of the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists.


Your Instructor


Dr Randy Paterson
Dr Randy Paterson

Randy Paterson is the Director of Changeways Clinic, a private mental health center, and author of How to be Miserable, The Assertiveness Workbook, Private Practice Made Simple, and Your Depression Map. He is also the lead author of the Changeways Core Program, one of the world's most widely used group therapy treatment protocols for depression. He presents workshops for professional mental health providers across Canada and internationally.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

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