Primary Instructor: James A. Martin, Ph.D., BCD

Office hours by appointment: e-mail to arrange an appointment <jmartin@brynmawr.edu>, or contact by phone: 610-520-2637

Associate Instructors: (presenting individual course lectures): Dana Becker, Cynthia Bisman, Paul Grobstein, Philip Kilbride, Leslie Rescorla, Marc Schulz

Praxis Site Information & Coordination: Nell Anderson, PRAXIS Field Placement Coordinator, Bryn Mawr College, 610 526-5031, e-mail: <nanderso@brynmawr.edu>

Schedule: Tuesday evenings 6 to 9 PM (1.5 hrs lecture and class group discussion and 1.5 hrs field site integration lab)

Registration: Priority for registration will be given to students based on class (seniors and juniors will receive first priority).

Course Description:

This course uses BlackBoard Course Software to facilitate dissemination of reading materials, web information, e-mail communications, and to promote class discussions. Students may access Blackboard directly from my web page: http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/GSSW/jam/switr/website/

Course Objectives: Participants in this course will -

• Build on their liberal arts education to advance their understanding of mental health as a concept and mental health issues as they effect individuals, groups, and populations in our society

Course Expectations, Requirements, and Grading:

• Field Placement — two visits per week to the field site.
• Regular class attendance and participation in lab discussions (more than three class absences will be considered unsatisfactory participation).
• Two short essays (due at class #6 and class #10) that focus on the student's integration of their field site experiences with the core course content (based on the three core perspectives: biological, psychological, and social/cultural/political).
• Course paper: a 10 to 15 page paper that addresses a mental health issue (at the individual, group, and/or community level) and provides an integrative discussion of this issue using a biopsychosocial framework. This paper is due on Class #12. All student papers will be posted on the web (http://serendipstudio.org/local/scisoc/mentalhealth) in an "open" area for review and critique by classmates and in order to promote public awareness and discussion of these important issues. Each student will also provide an appendix to their paper - a draft letter to the director of the site where they performed their field service describing how their field experience has contributed to this course, as well as the overall contribution of the course and agency field experience to their liberal arts education.
• Grading: To complete this course successfully, you must attend class; participate in the required field site activities; complete all assignments; and actively participate in class discussions. Class participation will constitute 30% of the course grade, the three short essays will constitute 30% of the course grade, and the final course paper will constitute the remaining 40% of the course grade.

Primary Course Documents:

• Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (1999): http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/index.html

Primary Course Web Site: http://serendipstudio.org/sci_cult/mentalhealth/

Additional Web Resources:

• Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity (2001): http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/index.html

Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General (2001): http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/youvioreport.htm

• Older Adults and Mental Health: Issues and Opportunities (2001): www.aoa.gov/mh/report2001

• National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: http://www.mentalhealth.org/suicideprevention/

Course Schedule:

Class #2: Mental Health from a Biological Perspective - Paul Grobstein <pgrobste@brynmawr.edu >

Paul Grobstein (1991) <"http://serendipstudio.org/gen_beh/Dreams.html">From Genomes to Dreams, Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin

Paul Grobstein (1989) <"http://serendipstudio.org/gen_beh/diversity.html"> Diversity and Deviance: A Biological Perspective, Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin

Ari Berkowitz (1996) <"http://serendipstudio.org/gen_beh/Berkowitz.html"> Our genes, ourselves? BioScience 46: 42-51

William Calvin (1998) <"http://faculty.washington.edu/wcalvin/1990s/1998SciAmer.htm"> The Emergence of Intelligence, Scientific American (November)

Paul Grobstein (1994) <"http://serendipstudio.org/bb/EncyHumBehav.html"> Variability in Brain Function and Behavior, in The Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, Volume 4 (V.S. Ramachandran, editor), Academic Press, 1994 (pp 447-458).

Antonio Damasio (1999) <"http://www.sciamarchive.org/pdfs/1383263.pdf"> How the Brain Creates the Mind, Scientific American (December)

Ronald Melzack (1997) <"http://www.sciamarchive.org/pdfs/1290034.pdf"> Phantom Limbs, Scientific American (spring)

Esther Steinberg and Philip Gold (1997) <"http://www.sciamarchive.org/pdfs/1289908.pdf"> The Mind-Body Interaction in Disease (spring)

Charles Nemeroff (1998) <"http://www.sciamarchive.org/pdfs/1123769.pdf"> The Neurobiology of Depression, Scientific American (June)

Kay Redfield Jamison (1997) <"http://www.sciamarchive.org/pdfs/1289971.pdf"> Manic Depressive Illness and Creativity, Scientific American (spring)

Patricia Rodier (2000) <"http://www.sciamarchive.org/pdfs/1432786.pdf"> The Early Origins of Autism, Scientific American (February)

Class #5: Mental Health from a Psychological Perspective - Leslie Rescorla <lrescorl@brynmawr.edu>

Class #7: Mental Health from a Psychological Perspective - Marc Schulz <mschulz@brynmawr.edu>

Cognitive-Behavioral and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in Action

Class #8: Mental Health from a Social Perspective - Special Populations & Barriers to Mental Health Services — Jim Martin < jmartin@brynmawr.edu >

Class #9: Mental Health from a Social Perspective - Cynthia Bisman <cbisman@brynmawr.edu >

Class #10: Mental Health from a Social Perspective — Philip Kilbride <pkilbrid@brynmawr.edu>

Class #11: Mental Health from a Social Perspective — Dana Becker ddbecker@brynmawr.edu