Transdiagnostic Factors as Diatheses to the Development of Psychopathology

Critically evaluate the role of a diathesis (predispositional vulnerability) to psychopathology
Critically evaluate the theory that a specific transdiagnostic factor contributes to psychological development
Synthesize the hypothesis that a transdiagnostic factor can serve as a diathesis to the development of a specific mental disorder
Reflect on how you might incorporate and apply the diathesis stress model and the transdiagnostic factors perspective into your future practice as a counsellor.
Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate a conceptual understanding of how transdiagnostic factors can serve as diatheses to the development of psychopathology.
Instructions
Your task is to apply the transdiagnostic factors – attachment – as a presumptive diathesis to Post-traumatic stress disorder
Review the article below. Then, use as the key source for your paper
Attachment: Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2012). An attachment perspective on psychopathology. World Psychiatry, 11(1), 11-15. https://www(dot)ncbi(dot)nlm(dot)nih(dot)gov/pmc/articles/PMC3266769/
Choose Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder a specific disorder from DSM-5 disorders, and, choose attachment transdiagnostic factors to examine as a possible diathesis for that disorder.
example, you might consider the transdiagnostic factor of attachment as a diathesis in the etiology of borderline personality disorder. Or, you might address how the transdiagnostic factor of emotional regulation can serve as a diathesis in the development of a panic disorder. Alternatively, you might explore the transdiagnostic factor of temperament as a diathesis in the etiology of depression. And so on.
In section one (75% of the body of the paper), you should address the theoretical basis of how the transdiagnostic factor you selected can predispose someone to the specific disorder you are researching. Remember that this is not a paper about the treatment of the disorder; address only the etiological developmental path.
Begin your paper with a brief introduction (one paragraph) that describes the “problem” (i.e., theme, topic, issue, concern, etc.) you will address, and be sure to state the purpose of your paper (e.g., “The purpose of the present paper is…” or “In this paper, I examine…” or “Attachment is examined as a…”). Next, present a brief overview of one of the diathesis-stress models we have studied in this course (e.g., Barlow’s triple vulnerability theory or Fairburn’s CBT-E model). Be sure to explain the role of a diathesis as a significant predispositional vulnerability to psychopathology.
Next, present a brief overview of the specific transdiagnostic factor you have selected (i.e., temperament, attachment, or emotional regulation). Describe the nature of the factor and explain its role in psychological development.
Next, present a brief overview of the specific disorder you have selected. Describe the nature of the disorder, summarize the symptoms and diagnostic criteria, and other relevant information. Do not list symptoms in a tabular format and do not copy, verbatim, DSM-5 content. Rather, provide your own narrative summary of the disorder you have chosen to study.
Then, explore in depth how the transdiagnostic factor can serve, etiologically, as a diathesis (predispositional vulnerability) to the development of the specific mental disorder you have chosen to examine.
Section two (25% of the body) comprises a (first-person, singular) personal reflection addressing how you might incorporate and apply the knowledge from Section one into your future practice as a counsellor. Keep in mind that this section is only about 400-500 words, so you will need to be selective and concise.
Finally, add a very brief conclusion/summary (one paragraph) of your work on this assignment.
Lastly, provide an APA-styled list of references that you used and cited for this paper.
Structure
Required components: An outline for the Transdiagnostic Factors paper is as follows:
Title page
Brief Introduction (one-paragraph)
Section 1.
Overview of the Diathesis-Stress model
Overview of the Transdiagnostic Factor (whichever one you choose)
Overview of the specific disorder (whichever one you choose)
Role of the selected transdiagnostic factor as a possible diathesis for the specific disorder
Section 2.
Personal Reflection
Conclusion
References
Length of Assignment: The text body of paper (i.e., not including references page/s or title page) should consist of approximately 2200 +/- words, (i.e., 10-pages double-spaced typed pages, Times New Roman font size: 12).
Format: Please, format your assignment in Word (files with extension .doc or .docx), or Rich Text Format (files with extension .rtf).
References: The key source, plus 5 additional scholarly sources
Considerations
Use content-themed headings and sub-headings to demarcate transitions and that augment the organization and readability of your paper.
Be sure to follow general guidelines of current APA style with respect to non-bias language, margins, double-spacing, running head (now optional in student papers) and pagination, proper Title page, and accurate use and full citation of References. Current APA style allows for use of the first-person; use first-person singular (“I”) not first-person plural (“We”) since you are one author.
An Abstract is not necessary for this paper. The brief introductory paragraph should describe both the “problem” you are addressing and the “purpose” of your paper.
The DSM-5 may be used to describe the disorder (again, do not list out all the criteria in a way that needlessly takes up space).
Sources published within the past ten years should be used. One or two older seminal sources are acceptable, provided that they are necessary and relevant to this assignment.
Appendices, tables, and figures are not acceptable for this assignment.
Resources
Any sources used to support your written narrative should be cited using correct APA format. Although Wikipedia can be a useful starting place to gather very general information no Wikipedia references will be accepted as scholarly citations.