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Psychopharmacology

in ACS Distance Education (England)

Distance Course

Price:

£280 + VAT

Duration:

100 Hours

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Course objectives:

This course will help you develop your skills in understanding the effects of legal, illegal and prescribed drugs on the mind body and behaviour.

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Course details

Type Course Duration 100 Hours
Method / place Contact course provider Distance
Suitability Those interested in drugs and their use in psychological disorders.
Course objectives This course will help you develop your skills in understanding the effects of legal, illegal and prescribed drugs on the mind body and behaviour.
Price £280 + VAT
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Course programme

Psychopharmacology
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY Extract From the Course -

Amphetamine
Amphetamine was first synthesised in 1887. It became popular in the 1920s in medical communities as a way of raising blood pressure, stimulating the nervous system and enlarging nasal passages. The abuse of the drug began in the 1930s. It was marketed as Benzedrine and sold as an inhaler over the counter. During World War II, amphetamines were distributed to soldiers as a way to combat fatigue and improve endurance and mood. After the way, amphetamines were prescribed by doctors for depression. The legal use of amphetamine increased at the same time as the black market emerged.
During the 1950s, the practice of injecting amphetamines occurred, but did not spread until the 1960s. In 1962 in America, there was a crackdown on San Francisco pharmacies who were selling injectable amphetamines. This drew attention to the national problem of amphetamine "mainlining", and led to the emergence of underground "speed labs". Amphetamine used began to decline in the 1970s, due to the increased awareness of the public of its dangers. In the 1990s, crystal methamphetamine became popular. It was a smokeable form of the drug and was commonly referred to as "ice."
Cocaine
Cocaine is derived from the coca plant. Cocaine has been used for thousands of years by certain tribes in the South American Andes. Pure cocaine was isolated in the mid-nineteenth century, but its effects weren't recognized in the medical world until the 1880s.
In 1883, Dr. Theodor Aschenbrandt, a German army physician, prescribed cocaine to soldiers in Bavaria during training to help reduce tiredness and fatigue. In 1884, Sigmund Freud published Uber Cola a hymn praising the drug. In 1886, John Pemberton of Atlanta, America, began to market coca-cola, syrup from the coca leaves and African kola nuts. The same year, the Surgeon-General of the US Army endorsed the medical use of cocaine. Medical tonics were sold in the early 1900s including cocaine and opium.
By 1902, it was estimated that there were 200,000 cocaine addicts in America alone. Hundreds of early Hollywood films depicted scenes of drug trafficking and drug use.
In 1914, cocaine was outlawed in America and its usage declined in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. However, the 1970s saw it increase in popularity as a recreational drug. It was proclaimed as non-addictive and viewed as harmless, until 1985 when crack emerged. In 1982, there were 10.4 millions users of cocaine in America alone.
Crack
Crack cocaine is a form of cocaine made by cooking cocaine powder, baking soda and water until it forms a solid that can be broken down and sold as individual "rocks". It first appeared around 1985. Cocaine was expensive to purchase, but crack could be bought at affordable prices and became prevalent in poorer areas. In 1986 and 1988 America introduced mandatory sentencing laws for the possession and trafficking of crack cocaine as it was seen as a more serious problem than powder cocaine.
Opium and Heroin
Opiates were popular throughout the nineteenth century, particularly among women. Tonics containing opium were available from pharmacists and doctors prescribed them for upper and middle class women with "women's problems". In the 1850s and 60s, Chinese labourers working on America railroads, brought with them the practice of smoking opium. This was banned in 1975, but opium dens were commonplace throughout America by the turn of century.
In 1803, Friedrich Sertuerner synthesised morphine and the invention of the hypodermic needle in the mid-nineteenth century led to the use of injectable morphine as a pain reliever in the American Civil War. This led to the first wave of morphine addiction.
In 1896, Heinrich Dreser of the Bayer Company synthesised heroin. Bayer began to market the drug. In the early 1900s, heroin was seen as a solution to the increased problem of morphine addiction and the St. James Society sent free samples of heroin to morphine addicts. Heroin addiction began to grow. Research in 1971 estimated that 10 - 15% of US servicemen in Vietnam were addicted. This statistic and the growing use of heroin led to the making of heroin use a crime.
In the 1980s and 90s, street heroin was smoked and snorted and its usage increased.

Duration:  100 hours
Course Content
Eleven lessons as follows:
  1. Introduction: A history of the use and misuse of drugs in society
  2. Effects of drugs on the individual and society
  3. Legally restricted drugs: Stimulants and narcotics
  4. Legally restricted drugs: Hallucinogens and marijuana
  5. Legally restricted drugs: Steroids
  6. Legal drugs: Alcohol
  7. Legal drugs: Tobacco, caffeine and solvents
  8. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs
  9. Sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs
  10. Prescription drugs for schizophrenia and affective disorders
  11. Treatment and preventative education .
AIMS
  • Understand the origins and changes in drug use in society;
  • Identify patterns of drug-taking behaviour;
  • Identify social, psychological and physical consequences of drug-taking on the individual;
  • Describe the effects of stimulants and narcotics on the individual;
  • Describe the effects of hallucinogens and marijuana on the individual;
  • Describe the effects of anabolic steroids on the individual;
  • Determine health and behavioural outcomes of alcohol use and mis-use;
  • Determine health and behavioural outcomes of nicotine, caffeine and solvent use and misuse;
  • Understand the effects of the major categories of OTC drugs and prescription regulations;
  • Explain the effects of sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs on the brain and behaviour;
  • Explain the effects of different types of anti-psychotic and anti-depressant drugs on the brain and behaviour;
  • Describe different methods of treatment and prevention of drug-abuse and to discuss ways of educating the public as to the outcomes of taking drugs.
    • WHAT YOU MAY DO IN THIS COURSE
  • Explain through case studies the difference between drug abuse and drug misuse;    
  • Explain through examples the difference between recreational and instrumental drug-taking;
  • Describe major changes in drug taking behaviour from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century;
  • Investigate why some people are more likely than others to engage in drug abuse behaviour;
  • Contrast the difference of attitudes to drug taking between cultures;    
  • Differentiate between drug tolerance and behavioural tolerance;
  • Differentiate between physical and psychological drug dependence;
  • Describe factors contributing to physiological effects of a drug on the body;
  • Learn how psychoactive drugs affect neurotransmitters;          
  • Consider how personal expectations influence the effects of drug taking;        
  • Learn how cocaine affects the mind and body;
  • List side effects of long and short-term amphetamine use;
  • Explain how to treat cocaine and amphetamine users;
  • Explain how  heroin affects the mind and body;
  • Describe how narcotics been used successfully in medicine;
  • Describe how opiates affect the brain;
  • Discuss the effectiveness of the main approaches to treating heroin abuse;
  • Discuss the negative effects regular marijuana use has on quality of life;
  • Discuss the use of steroids in sport and drug control of athletes;  
  • Identify health behavioural, and lifestyle outcomes of alcohol use and misuse;
  • Develop a case study of a person being treated with anti-anxiety drugs;
  • Consider how  anti-psychotic drugs work in the brain; 
  • Identify the main three types of anti-depressants;          
  • Identify drugs used to alleviate panic attacks and bipolar disorder;
  • Consider dilemmas faced when trying to test out new drugs for schizophrenia;
  • Discuss the 'bio-psychosocial' approach to treatment of drug abuse;
  • Describe t he stage theory of treatment and recovery.
    • "Drugs" is a word used by the medical profession to refer to medicines that can cure or arrest disease or alleviate symptoms, ease pain or provide other benefits. Powerful drugs may have side effects, but commonly used drugs with less potential to harm can be sold over the counter. More powerful drugs often require a medical practitioner's prescription. Another definition of drugs is those substances upon which a person may become dependent. These range from mild stimulants eg. Caffeine, to powerful drugs that alter mood and behaviour. The term "drug" is therefore any substance which is - that is, mind altering. It can cover -
    • Legal drugs (eg tobacco, alcohol)
    • Illegal drugs (eg ecstasy, amphetamines)
    Medicinal drugs, (eg insulin, paracetamol, ventol).
    Psychopharmacology is the study of the effects on the mind and body of pharmacological substances - drugs.  This course will help you develop your skills in understanding the effects of legal, illegal and prescribed drugs on the mind body and behaviour.

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On ACS Distance Education

Provider description
ACS Distance Education is a world-wide distance learning college offering a wide range of high quality distance learning courses in subjects such as psychology, horticulture, creative writing, journalism, agriculture, organics, hydroponics, nutrition and much more..
Advantages of studying with ACS Distance Education
ACS Distance Education is a reputable provider offering distance learning courses worldwide. *High quality courses *Continually updated and improved *Many courses available as postal, CD-Rom or online. *Tutor support via phone, email, fax or post. *Recognised qualifications *Highly experienced tutors. *Efficient administrative support *Student room *Online library *Book shop    
Course provider history
ACS Distance Education originated in Australia in 1979, since then it has grown and developed and now has sites in the UK and America, offering courses world wide.
Specialises in
Psychology, horticulture, agriculture, creative writing, journalism, crops, education, science, statistics, health, healthy buildings, nutrition, children's nutrition.

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