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Mental Health and the Brain: Topic Suggestions

Mental Health and the Brain:
A Discussion
Fall, 2008

 

Suggested Topics/Starting Points


The Significance of Genes

Pharmacotherapy

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Cognitive/behavioral therapy

Additional forms of therapy

The Therapeutic Relationship/Alliance

Classification

Schizophrenia

Depression

Anxiety

Obsessive/Compulsive Behavior

Addiction

Eating Behavior

Social Behavior

  • Autism
  • Williams Syndrome
  • Anti-social behavior, criminality

Personality Disorder

Self-injury

Childhood and Adolesence

Traumatic Stress

At the Border

Community Mental Health

Special Education

Mental Health Parity

Comments

Paul Grobstein's picture

Therapeutic relationship/alliance

Added to list, looking for good web accessible starting points.
LK's picture

cross cultural perspective

Another possibility would be to think of mental health as a contemporary cultural phenomenon, and compare contemporary Western/American perspectives with either the historical record or other contemporary cultures, by going to the historical and anthropological literature. So too, looking explicitly at discussions that focus on class and/or race and mental health, as a way of pulling apart middle class western assumptions in thinking about normalcy, deviance, stigma, the possible roles of government policy and the health profession, religion, etc.

Paul Grobstein's picture

mental health: historical/cultural contexts

Yep, good additions. Thanks. And serves as well to highlight for others in the course and/or dropping by two additional points. The more obvious is that suggestions for additional topics are indeed welcome. The less obvious (my fault for not making this clear) is that I didn't include on the list topics that I expected to treat myself (at least to some extent) in the initial, pre-programmed course sessions. "Pulling apart middle class western assumptions" re "normalcy" by (among other things) cross cultural/historical contrast was indeed omitted from the topic list but very much on my mind. And certainly cultural/historical contrast should be on any compete list of topics for a course of this kind. As should be "class and/or race," "government," and "religion."
Anne Dalke's picture

and gender

and gender.

am thinking of classic 19th c. American texts--Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," Emily Dickinson's "Much Madness is Divinest Sense," Kate Chopin's The Awakening--as examples of a culture so out of joint that sane women seemed mad....

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