Please consult the New School Course Catalog for a full list of courses. Fall 2023 courses include:
Visual Perception and Cognition, GPSY 5102
Ben van Buren, Assistant Professor of Psychology (CSD)
This course will survey the state of the art in vision science, including research on the perception of color, motion, shape, material, and depth. We will discuss the critical role that attention and visual working memory play in constraining what we see, as well as new work investigating seemingly higher-level regularities in visual experience, such as the perception of objects, events, and personal agency (i.e., the sense that we are causing something to happen). Some important questions that we will consider are: How does visual processing shape later (e.g., social) cognitive processing? In what ways can life experience change what we see? And to what extent does perception reflect reality? This course is open to Parsons Design and Technology MFA students. Students enrolled in other Parsons programs should contact the instructor before registering.
Adult Psychopathology, GPSY 5155
McWelling Todman, Professor of Clinical Practice
This course is a comprehensive introduction to the history, theories, and research associated with some of the more important types of adult psychopathology.
Introduction to Applied Psychology and Design, GPSY 5158
Michael Schober, Professor of Psychology (CSD) and Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
This course provides an overview of the way empirical psychological findings and methods can be applied to the design of interfaces, objects, and environments. Students will review how theories of human perception, cognition, and interaction have informed human factors and ergonomics and how attention to the psychology of individual capacities along with environmental and social factors can inform design. They will also encounter widely used lab and field research methods, including task analysis, usability testing, experimental design, and observational and self-report measures of users’ experience, cognition, and affect. Throughout, critical questions about the ethical treatment of humans—both research participants in the design process and the eventual users of what is being designed—and about broader social impacts will be addressed. Prior coursework in psychology is useful but not required.
Cognitive Neuroscience, GPSY 6101
Hossein Adeli Jelodar, Part-Time Lecturer
This course provides an overview of the brain mechanisms supporting perceptual and cognitive processes, including vision, object recognition, attention, memory, cognitive control, and emotions. Students are also introduced to the structure and function of neural substrates of behavior and motor control. In addition to learning about brain organization and function, students in the course will acquire a basic understanding of scientific design and methods in the brain sciences.
Language and Thought, GPSY 6107
Ruthe Foushee
This course surveys research on psycholinguistics, cognition, and the relation between language and thought. Topics covered include the psychological reality of grammars proposed by linguists; individual and dyadic processes in language planning, production perception, and comprehension; meaning, categorization, and knowledge representation; and universals in language and thought.
Introduction to Substance Abuse Counseling, GPSY 6109
Lisa Litt, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Assistant Director of the MA Concentration in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Counseling
This course is an introduction to understanding and working clinically with individuals misusing substances and those who are dually diagnosed. A variety of theoretical and commonly employed practical approaches to counseling and intervention techniques are explored and discussed using case material. This course is required for individuals who wish to obtain an MA degree with a concentration in mental health and substance abuse counseling. Psychology majors in their senior year at Eugene Lang College and the Schools of Public Engagement may enroll in this course.
Introduction to Statistics and Research Design, GPSY 6133
Sam Winer, Associate Professor of Psychology (Clinical)
This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of behavioral research methodology and statistics. The emphasis will be on descriptive statistics, non-experimental and experimental research designs and how to report them in APA format. We will focus on deepening three core areas of competency: 1) scientific method and research design—understanding how to apply the scientific method to design rigorous research that can contribute to our understanding of behavior; 2) data analysis and presentation—understanding how to summarize, analyze, and interpret data from psychological research projects to reach conclusions about patterns and causes of behavior; and 3) scientific communication and literacy—understanding how to properly report the results of psychological research with brevity and clarity.
Developmental Psychology, GPSY 6155
Joan Miller, Professor of Psychology (CSD)
The goal of this course is to provide a contemporary research-based perspective on the field of developmental psychology, including work in cognition, social development, and neuroscience. Students are introduced to theory and empirical work in such key areas as language acquisition, modern research on infancy, theory of mind, attachment, parenting, brain changes during adolescence, peer relationships, the meaning and measurement of intelligence, and aging and personality changes over the life span. A special feature of the course is the attention paid to mainstream theoretical and empirical perspectives on all topics and to relevant conceptual insights and empirical findings from cultural psychology. Consideration is also given to ways the insights of developmental psychology are portrayed in the media and influence advice given to parents and educators.
Research Methods, GPSY 6238
Joan Miller, Professor of Psychology (CSD), and Howard Steele, Professor of Psychology (Clinical)
This course provides hands-on experience in designing, running, and reporting psychology experiments. Class time is devoted to discussion on individual research projects at each phase of the work.
Seminar: Autobiographical Memory, GPSY 6302
William Hirst, Malcolm B. Smith Professor of Psychology (CSD)
Memories can serve as the foundation upon which identity is built. This seminar will review work on the formation and characteristics of autobiographical memories and explore how they contribute to identity.
Race, Culture and Classification, GPSY 6358
Lawrence Hirschfeld, Professor of Anthropology and Psychology (CSD)
Few ideas are as potent, as easy to learn, and as difficult to forget as race. This course explores issues about race by disrupting "common sense" and by identifying its psychological and cultural dimensions. The approach is comparative: to examine differences and similarities in racial thinking across cultures and across historical periods and to compare race with other important social categories, such as gender and class.
Psychology of Gender, GPSY 6359
Lisa Rubin, Associate Professor of Psychology (Clinical)
Over the past 30 years, feminists have transformed the field of psychology. Feminist psychologists have challenged how we study, what we study, and what we know about the lives of both women and men. This course provides an overview of the growing field of the psychology of gender, from the work of early feminist psychologists who challenged notions of women's intellectual and emotional inferiority through their rigorous scientific research to the growing study of field of masculinity studies within feminist psychology. With a focus on the intersectionality of gender with race/ethnicity, class, sexuality, and disability, we explore key themes and topics within feminist psychological research. Topics include theories of gendered psychological development, the regulation and management of the body across the lifespan and across cultures, sexuality and reproduction, mental and physical health, feminist therapy, work, and violence.
Child and Adolescent Global Mental Health, GPSY 6440
Miriam Steele, Alfred J. and Monette C. Marrow Professor of Psychology (Clinical)
More than 40 percent of the world population is 24 years old or younger. The vast majority of these young people live in low- and lower-middle–income countries where child and adolescent mental health problems are largely neglected. On the other hand, tending to the mental health needs of children has the exponential benefit of delivery at a time when development is rapid, with growth in the physical, social, and emotional domains. Children and adolescents more easily integrate than adults and are helped by interventions which can reduce symptoms and overall risk and have the potential to increase resiliency. This course will explore current trends in the assessment and delivery of child and adolescent mental health services, with special attention to populations of refugees and displaced children and adolescents and the increasing rates of suicide and substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and conduct disorder. We will also consider critical perspectives on global mental health and explore the role of culture and context in shaping our understanding of mental health challenges and interventions.The class format will involve discussions based on relevant readings and team-based projects that will blend social science and design perspectives. As design is best used when there is a clear setting or context for focus, we will invite stakeholders from both government agencies and NGOs delivering interventions to children, adolescents, and families to partner with teams of students over the semester to develop their projects. The teams will consist of students from social science and design backgrounds. In addition, there will be classes and workshops to cover design and user-based (UX) thinking and a prototyping workshop.
Diagnostic Testing 1, GPSY 7002
Ali Khadivi, Part-Time Faculty
The purpose of this class is to provide a comprehensive introduction to psychological assessment for school-age children and adolescents. Students successfully completing the course will demonstrate competency in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of tests of intellectual, academic, and emotional functioning. Case material will be woven into the seminar in order to introduce aspects of psychodynamic, cognitive, family systems, and neuropsychological diagnostic perspectives. Although this is an introductory course, the emphasis will be on synthesizing results of testing data, clinical observation, and collateral information to provide a thorough child-centered evaluation. Students may have the opportunity to administer and write up a testing battery. TA Session participation is especially important for learning assessments that students will include in evaluations during the semester.
Diagnostic Interviewing, GPSY 7005
Ali Khadivi, Part-Time Faculty
The focus of this course is mastering the diagnostic interview in the context of the initial phase of the treatment. The course will cover interviewing techniques for establishing the therapeutic alliance and for arriving at a diagnostic formulation. Issues of differential diagnosis, psychiatric mental status examination, and suicide and violence risk assessment will be covered. In addition, students will be introduced to the Cultural Formulation Interview, Motivational Interviewing, and other specialized interviewing techniques.
Clinical Theory and Technique: Psychodynamic Therapy, GPSY 7006
Julia Belotserkovsky, Part-Time Faculty
This course focuses on mastering basic clinical theory and techniques in psychodynamic therapy. Issues covered include therapeutic neutrality, transference and countertransference, resistance, differential therapeutics, treatment planning, and psychodynamic case conceptualization. Relevant biological, psychological, and social factors, along with research perspectives, are considered. This course includes a clinical lab component. Co-requisite: to be taken concurrently with GPSY 7002.
Advanced Diagnostic Testing and Assessment: Adult Psychopathology, GPSY 7006
Andrew Twardon, Part-Time Faculty
The course will introduce students to advanced diagnostic testing and assessment of personality-related spectrum of adult psychopathology. Building upon the standard psychological testing battery (Diagnostic Testing I and II), the course will 1) review the most recent dimensional conceptualizations of personality-related disorders and the corresponding dimensional interpretation of the standard testing results (MMPI-2, TAT, Rorschach); 2) introduce new dimensional measures of adult personality-related psychopathology, including the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-3) and the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP-BQ); 3) discuss key neurobiological substrates of personality-spectrum disorders and the most recent assessment tools based on brain imaging and related translational research; and 4) discuss the advanced personality-centered differential diagnosis of DSM-IV-TR-related Axis I and Axis II disorders and the multidimensional approach to psychodynamic interpretation, case formulation, and treatment recommendations based on testing results of actual patients with complex personality-related psychopathology.
Ethnicity in Clinical Theory Practice, GPSY 7012
Lillian Polanco-Roman, Assistant Professor of Psychology (Clinical)
This course examines the cultural, historical, and sociopolitical factors that shape the worldviews of the client and therapist and their impact on the therapy process. Students will explore the influence of culture on the phenomenology of distress and learn practical skills for conducting culturally responsive assessment and therapy. Techniques for improving therapeutic engagement and case conceptualization with diverse client populations will also be discussed. Finally, students will deepen their awareness and knowledge of and ability to work with a specific cultural group by conducting a series of experiential exercises, holding a group presentation, and writing focused reviews of the literature.