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What I left class being most intrigued by was the difference between Professor Grobstein's bipartite brain and the alternative tripartite brain theory, mostly because I think in many (maybe even most) ways the two models are actually very similar.
In the tripartite model (from the explanation in class) there is one realm of human function that is conscious, one that is unconscious, and one that can be unconscious but can also be accessed by the conscious mind if it so desires (the preconscious). Prof Grobstein's model on the other hand has the conscious and unconscious as the only two realms within the brain/mind, but they are connected by arrows going in opposite directions: the unconscious affects the conscious (the more obvious and easily agreed upon principle) but also the conscious effects the unconscious. Like the tripartite model, then, this certainly leaves open the possibility that if the conscious brain wants to become aware of something in the unconscious, it can. To me however, there is a difference in the limits of the two models; two-way arrows leave open the possibility that with enough conscious effort (perhaps to the level of meditation or something similar) the ability of the conscious mind to influence the unconscious is limitless. Is it a theoretical possibility that someone could eventually be able to make all of their unconscious functions accessible to the conscious when it desires them? In the tripartite model, the line between the preconscious and the unconscious answers this question: no, at some point, some functions can only ever be unconscious. But in Professor Grobstein’s model, is this a theoretical possibility? (Professor Grobstein?)
In applying this question to mental health, the tripartite brain then says that at some (very real) point people’s attempts to control their actions are futile – the conscious mind simply cannot expand its power further. However the bipartite model doesn’t necessarily have such a problem. It allows us to say yes, the large part of our actions may be unconscious, but that does not mean we cannot learn to be conscious of them and thus consciously change the unconscious.