This is a great class. If you're like me and you're someone whose been through years of therapy and already knows a lot about mental illness, this class will be a piece of cake for you. Don't bother buying the textbook even though Dr. Chavira insists. I didn't buy it and I still got an A-. I also didn't participate at all this quarter! Like not even once. If I had I probably would've gotten an A but I'm satisfied lol. Overall I liked Dr. Chavira as a professor because she explains things really well, and unlike a lot of professors at UCLA she takes it slower and doesn't blow through the lecture material. I took it as an opportunity to take really good notes and that really paid off for the exams. That's all you really need to succeed. My TA was Vivian and she was great, so take her if you can. Discussion section was such a supportive environment for everyone to talk about their mental health, and it was honestly so refreshing because you don't really get that from any other classes at this school. I felt like I learned a lot of valuable information in this class.

This class was informative, but definitely harder than people made it sound on the bruinwalk. Her class is graded on a points scale without a curve, so you have to do really well on the exams in order to succeed. She also talks super slow and I found it hard to stay awake during lecture.

If you want to succeed in this class you need to read the book, attend the lectures, and study diligently before exams. Do not take this class lightly.

If you're a psychology major, you need to take this class. It's so interesting and not too difficult for the content. I hardly studied for any of the exams and got an A, didn't even have to take the optional final. Make sure to reach the textbook because she writes the test based on it and doesn't always cover everything in lecture. It can be found for free online. Lectures were recorded which was majorly helpful because I couldn't keep up with handwritten notes in person. Tests are reasonable, but you need to review the content at least a little bit beforehand. She's really good about throwing out questions that the majority get wrong. Sections are required and were often boring, but not difficult. Just make sure to participate because every point counts due to her grading system! Would highly recommend this class!