Course Resources Archive

Mental health disorders make a significant contribution to the burden of disease worldwide (WHO, 2011), although mental health is a contested issue. Working within a biopsychosocial framework, the module explores ideas, models and psychological practice in mental health – encouraging students to review their own beliefs and experiences. The interacting five dimensions of the person – social, emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual will be referred to in consideration of why people become distressed and how these dimensions influence the life course and life events. Dominant themes will include recovery, stress-diathesis, and stigma. The module works through a journey drawing on understandings about mental health in children through to older age.

There will be emphasis on deconstructing the concept of the severe mental ‘illnesses’ such as schizophrenia and exploration of the links between childhood trauma and distress in adulthood. Throughout the module, mental health categories such as depression and psychosis will be viewed as broad and heterogeneous with complex aetiologies. Neurocognitive aspects of the mind-brain relationship which are relevant to mental health will be explored, as well as social explanations of distress. Throughout the module, there will a focus on interventions drawing on case studies, client formulation and psychological treatments which include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as the dominant evidence based model. The relationship between psychological science and professional practice will be a continuing theme within lectures and seminars.The module will include evidence based psychological approaches to treatments of the common mental health problems within the context of policy drivers.

By the end of the module the student will have developed knowledge and understanding of:

1. contemporary debates and the complexity of diverse models in the field of mental health and distress
2.  the complex aetiologies in mental illness
3. specific neurophysiological correlates of cognitive, emotional, social and genetic factors that can affect mental health
4. the complex relationship between physical and psychological health and psychological treatments of stress
5. the evidence base of current treatments and in particular the ‘talking therapies’
6. the role of the clinical health psychologist in primary and tertiary settings

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.