Praxis Course: Mental Health - A BioPsychoSocial Perspective

GNSTB245 - 1775
PSYCB-1774

Spring Semester 2002

Primary Instructor: James A. Martin, Ph.D., BCD
Office hours by appointment: e-mail to arrange an appointment jmartin@brynmawr, or contact by phone: 610-520-2637

Associate Instructors: (presenting individual course lectures):

• Dana Becker dbecker@brynmawr.edu
• Cynthia Bisman cbisman@brynmawr.edu
• Anne Dalke adalke@brynmawr.edu
• Paul Grobstein pgrobste@brynmawr.edu
• Philip Kilbride pkilbrid@brynmawr.edu
• Leslie Rescorla lrescorl@brynmawr.edu
• Marc Schulz mschultz@brynmawr.edu

Praxis Site Information & Coordination: Nell Anderson, PRAXIS Field Placement Coordinator, Bryn Mawr College, 610 526-5031, nanderso@brynmawr

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

Note: All students MUST attend ONE PRAXIS Orientation Meeting. These meetings are scheduled for on Monday 1/28 from 7 to 8:30 PM (location to be determined), or Thursday 1/31 from 6 to 7:30 (location to be determined)

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

Course Description

This course will provide participants an opportunity to examine the concept "mental health" from a variety of perspectives (biological, psychological, and social/cultural/political), and to gain first hand experience with mental health services via a field placement in a community-based health, mental health, or social service agency. Faculty from a variety of academic disciplines and a range of professional interests will present their distinctive perspectives, and students will be encouraged to consider how these intersect in the context of their liberal arts education, personal experiences, and their course field experience. Integration of the instructional material and field experience will be facilitated by a weekly discussion period (second half of class) based on student experiences. Students will be asked to help arrange for staff members from the field sites to attend and participate in some of these discussions. Integration will also be supported by three short essays reflecting on the course material and the field experiences to date, by a web-based course final integrative paper and associated peer review and discussion, and finally by the course primary instructor.

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: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
• Learn about and contribute to the ongoing discussion within our culture of how to understand and deal with issues in mental health, a discussion in which the importance of diverse existing perspectives and areas of expertise needs to be brought together in a more coherent way.
• Explore a variety of ethical, legal, and value issues associated with mental health and mental health services 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)
• Each instructor will recommend one or two additional primary readings

Primary Course Web Site: Center for Science in Society: Mental Health Page

Additional Web Resources:

• Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity (2001)
• Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General (2001)
• Older Adults and Mental Health: Issues and Opportunities (2001)
• National Strategy for Suicide Prevention

Course Schedule

22 January 2002

Class #1: Introduction (Course Overview, Review of Core Concepts, Discussion of Field Experience and Course Expectations) - J. Martin

• Review course content, methods, and expectations
• Define and examine the concept - "mental health"
• Define and examine the mental health biopsychosocial model
• Review and discussion of student field experience

Note: All students MUST attend ONE PRAXIS Orientation Meeting. These meetings are scheduled for on Monday 1/28 from 7 to 8:30 PM (location to be determined), or Thursday 1/31 from 6 to 7:30 (location to be determined)

Assigned Reading

During the first three weeks of class please read:

• Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (1999):
  • Chapter 1: Introduction and Themes
  • Chapter 2: The Fundamentals of Mental Health and Mental Illness

29 January 2002

Class #2: Mental Health from a Biological Perspective 1 - Paul Grobstein

Assigned Reading

• Paul Grobstein (1991) From Genomes to Dreams, Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin
• Paul Grobstein (1989) Diversity and Deviance: A Biological Perspective, Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin

Recommended Reading

• Ari Berkowitz (1996) Our genes, ourselves? BioScience (January 1996)
• William Calvin (1998) The Emergence of Intelligence, Scientific American (November 1998)

Note: Information will be provided during this class on the use of the Mental Health Web Site and support for posting class papers on the web.
Note: Information will be provided on field site arrangements

5 February 2002

Class #3: Mental Health from a Biological Perspective 2 - Paul Grobstein

Assigned Reading

• Paul Grobstein (1994) Variability in Brain Function and Behavior, Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, Volume 4
• Antonio Damasio (1999) How the Brain Creates the Mind, Scientific American (December 1999)

Recommended Reading

• Ronald Melzack (1997) Phantom Limbs, Scientific American (spring 1997)
• Esther Steinberg and Philip Gold (1997) The Mind-Body Interaction in Disease (spring 1997)

12 February 2002

Class #4: Mental Health from a Biological Perspective 3 - Paul Grobstein

Note: This will be the first week of field experience

Assigned Reading

• Charles Nemeroff (1998) The Neurobiology of Depression, Scientific American (June 1998)
• McDermott, Ray and Herve Vareene (1995) "Culture as Disability." Anthropology and Education Quarterly 26, 3 (1995): 324-348.

Recommended Reading

• Kay Redfield Jamison (1997) Manic Depressive Illness and Creativity, Scientific American (spring 1997)
• Patricia Rodier (2000) The Early Origins of Autism, Scientific American (February 2000)

19 February 2002

Class #5: Mental Health from a Psychological Perspective 1 - Leslie Rescorla

Assigned Reading

• Costello, E.J. & Angold, A. (2000). "Developmental psychopathology and public health: Past, present, and future" Development and Psychopathology, 12, 599-618.

Note: Class discussion time (7:30 to 9 PM) will be used for a "round table discussion" of mental health issues and services at Bryn Mawr College. Guest discussants: Mark Coffey (drug & alcohol issues: 610-519-1280), Jean-Marie Barch (Counseling Center - x7363), Cynthia Chalker (Asst. Director of Institutional Diversity: x7342)

26 February 2002

Class #6: Mental Health from a Psychological Perspective 2 - Jim Martin

Assigned Reading

• Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (1999):
  • Chapter 3: Children and Mental Health
  • Chapter 4: Adults and Mental Health
  • Chapter 5: Older Adults and Mental Health
• Forces in Human Development" by Dr. Jerome Kagan Public Presentation: October 18, 1994

Note: First Short Essay due

5 March 2002

Class #7: Mental Health from a Psychological Perspective 3 - Marc Schulz

Required readings (on e-reserve):

• Seligman, M.E.P., Walker, E.F., & Rosenhan D.L. (2001): "Excerpts on Psychodynamic Therapy" (pp.94-97) and "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy" (pp.110-118) Approaches to Therapy: Abnormal Psychology. NY: Norton
• Ellis, A. (1995): "Excerpts from: A twenty-three year old woman guilty about not following her parents' rules" Case Studies in Psychotherapy: D. Wedding & R. J. Corsini (eds.). Ithaca F.E. Peacock Publishers

12 March 2002 - Spring Break

19 March 2002

Class #8: Mental Health from a Social Perspective 1 - Jim Martin

Required Reading

• Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General:
  • Chapter 8 A Vision For the Future

26 March 2002

Class #9: Mental Health from a Social Perspective 2 - Cynthia Bisman

Required Reading

• Atwood, N. (January 201). Gender Bias in Families and Its Clinical Implications for Women. Social Work, Volume 46, Number 1, Pp. 23-36.
• Dadds, M. (1995). Families, Children, and Development of Dysfunction. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Pp. 8-22.

2 April 2002

Class #10: Mental Health from a Social Perspective 3 - Philip Kilbride

Required Reading: TBD

Note: Second Short essay due

9 April 2002

Class #11: Mental Health from a Social Perspective 4 - Dana Becker

Required Reading

• Becker, D. (October, 1999). When She Was Bad: Borderline Personality Disorder in a Posttraumatic Age. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Volume 70, number 4, Pp. 422-432.

16 April 2002

Class #12: Instructor "Integration Panel" and Class Discussion
All instructors will present 10 to 15 minutes of information related to the course theme that evolves from their course presentation and their area of special interest. This will be followed by a large group instructor/class discussion that examines the concept of a biopsychosocial model of mental health.

Note: Course paper due

23 April 2002

Class #13: Access to Mental Health Services - Jim Martin
Including a Discussion of Issues of Cost and Confidentiality Associated with Mental Health Services

Required Reading

• Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (1999):
  • Chapter 6: Organizing and Financing Mental health Services
  • Chapter 7: Confidentiality of Mental Health Information

Note: last week of Field experience

30 April 2002

Class #14: Discussion of Course Papers and Course Summary - J. Martin
Review and general discussion of the course objectives; lectures; and readings, and consideration of other domains that might be included to enrich the biopsychosocial model.

Course Description for catalogue and course guide: This course examines "mental health" from biological, psychological, and social/cultural/political perspectives. Students gain experience with mental health services via a volunteer placement in a community-based agency. Faculty from a variety of disciplines present distinctive perspectives. Students will be encouraged to consider how these intersect with their education and personal experiences.