Developmental PsychopathologySemester Course

Three students laughing during a field study. Two students attentively listening to a lecture while in the park. Lots of greenery in the background. A student playing a wall game during a psychology class field study.
Program
Psychology
Week-Long Study Tour
Madrid
Core Course Week Study Tour
Sweden
Major Discipline(s)
Neuroscience, Pre-Medicine / Health Science, Psychology
Type
Core Course
Available
Fall/Spring semester
Credit(s)
3

What is the nature of psychological disorders that develop during childhood and adolescence, and how are these experienced by young people in Scandinavia? In this course, we will review the neurobiological and psychological features associated with the development and maintenance of disorders such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorders by situating them within a broader sociocultural framework. For example, how do parental leave policies and parental stress impact prenatal and infant development? How does a modern welfare state address early detection and early intervention for developmental disorders, and how are the needs of youth with developmental disorders met – or not met – in the Swedish educational system? We will also review contemporary issues and controversies in the field, such as the discourse around neurodiversity/neurotypicality vs. a strictly medical model of illness and treatment.

Faculty

Monica Siqueiros Sanchez

DIS Stockholm Semester Faculty

Monica obtained her PhD in Medical Science, from Karolinska Institutet (KI; Sweden). A clinical psychologist by training, she became interested in neurodevelopmental disorders during her clinical practice. She then went on to do her MSc in Developmental Psychopathology at Durham University, followed by her PhD at KI where she combined eye tracking and twin modelling to investigate the relative contribution of genes and environment to autistic and ADHD traits, oculomotor behavior, and the association between them. She recently completed her postdoctoral training at Stanford University where she used a combination of neuroimaging modalities and psychological assessments to characterize the effects of rare genetic variation on brain morphology to better understand psychiatric disorders. Her interests include socio-communicative skills, attention, neurogenetic syndromes, neurodevelopmental disorders, and white matter. With DIS since 2023.