What approach to my essay is best?

Question

I have an assignment to do for my clinical psychology module. It is only a 2000 word essy but there is a lot to cover. I have two essay plans in mind but do not know which one to go for?

The essay title is "Discuss the view that for the treatment of most mental disorders, psychological approaches are more effective than the use of medication".

Essay plan 1

Intro
Depression - what is depression, discussion of drug treatments, discussion of CBT, evaluation comparing CBT with drug treatments.
Schizophrenia - what is schizophrenia, discussion of drug treatments, discussion of a psychological intervention (haven't decided which one yet), evaluation comparing psychogical treatment with drug treatment.
Personality disorders - what are personality disorders, discussion of drug treatments, discussion of objective relations therapies
Conclusion

Although I like this plan I feel there will be too much to cover with a 2000 word limit.

TBC...

Essay Plan 2

Intro
Classification of mental disorders
Discussion of various drug treatments
Discussion/description of various (2/3) psychological therapies. E.g., CBT, counselling, Psychodynamic therapy.
Compare and evaluate drug treatments with psychological therapies
Conclusion

This one I feeel I could cover more, but am concerned I may not be able to maintan structure. Also I don't know whether I should outline that I am only going to look at several mental disorders. Because the thing is CBT appears to quite effective across a broad range of disorders.

Answer 1

i think plan#1 is better...it deals with the more common mental disorders...when writing ur essay it's best not to dwell too much on details...it will be helpful to limit technical terms...always ask yourself: "will someone not majoring in clinical psychology understand what i've written?". and stick to the title's goal, that is, to prove or disprove that psychological approaches are more effective than medication when treating people with mental disorders. i hope i helped u in one way or another :-)

Answer 2

The problem here is not which one to go for. The problem is how you make decisions. If both feel the same then it does not matter which one. Or maybe there is a third option combining best of both. But as I said the problem is not which one it is how you make decisions.
It is an interesting topic and if you write it in a interesting way then I am sure any one will be great. Good luck. Have faith in yourself my friend.

Answer 3

i think you should sack it off n go to the pub :-)