Students are to watch the film 'A Beautiful Mind' and fill out the relevant viewing sheet.
Discuss the the main points and issues that are presented in the film...
Session 3: Mental Illness - The Facts, Diagnosis and Treatment
Students are to place the following notes in their workbooks:
A mental illness or disorder is a diagnosable illness that significantly interferes with an individual's cognitive, emotional or social abilities. There are many different types of disorders, which occur to varying degrees of severity.
About 20% of adult Australians, or one in five people, will experience a mental illness at some stage in their lives. Many will live with more than one mental illness at a time, such as anxiety and depression, which commonly occur together.
There are positive and negative aspects to labeling mental disorders. Psychologists and psychiatrists all over the world use the classification system found in the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, known as the DSM IV.
Once you have copied the above down in your workbooks, you'll need to follow the outline below and complete all of the activities:
THE FACTS:
- Click on the 'Unit 1 Psychology Materials' link just below the 'Class Resources' heading. Scroll down and open the 'Mental Health Fact Poster' document. Read through the poster and in your work book, highlight 3 aspects (statistics / statements) of mental health that you believe are the most important / interesting - provide your own thoughts on why you have chosen these aspects.
DIAGNOSIS:
- Click on the link below:
- Read through the overview regarding the DSM IV - ensuring that you understand the reason why it exists and how professionals use this reference in everyday diagnosis.
- Once you have read through how the manual works and what it is used for, click on this link: http://allpsych.com/disorders/disorders_alpha.html and have a browse through some of the disorders - do YOU have any of these disorders???
- Click on the 'Unit 1 Psychology Materials' link just below the 'Class Resources' heading. Scroll down and open the 'Excerpt from The Psychopath Test' document. Read from half way down on page 266 and answer the following questions in your workbook:
- Outline some of the positives of psychologists and psychiatrists using the DSM IV to diagnose clients in their professional practice.
- Outline some of the negatives of psychologists and psychiatrists using the DSM IV to diagnose clients in their professional practice.
- From your perspective, do you think that the existence of such a manual is important / needed within the mental health field?
TREATMENT:
- Watch and listen to the following links (the first link is a brief history of the treatment of mental health and contains some graphic footage)
- Click on the 'Unit 1 Psychology Materials' link just below the 'Class Resources' heading. Scroll down and open the 'Mental Health Article' document. Read and answer the following questions in your workbook:
- What does the article reveal about the role of medication, specifically big pharmaceutical companies (Big Pharma) in treating mental illness?
- What does this excerpt from the article mean, 'The social matrix becomes more crucial when one considers that anxiety is the underlying thread of most mental illness."?
- What link is made between wealthy countries and the levels of depression? Why do you think this is the case?
- What is the overall message concerning the treatment of mental illness presented in the article?
Session 4: DAX Centre Reflection & Holiday Homework
Please answer the following reflection questions in your workbook:
David's Story
- Initial thoughts about David? How did you perceive him? What preconceptions did you have?
- Describe some of the triggers that David believed contributed to his illness? (think about his childhood / adolescence)
- How did he use drugs and alcohol and why did he believe he used these vices?
- What were David's experiences in relation to the care that he received when he had an episode?
- What things did you 'take away' from David's story?
DAX Gallery
- What were overall impressions of the gallery?
- Do you agree that paintings from confidential therapy sessions should be on show for the public to see?
- What picture from the gallery most interested you and why?
Holiday Homework - this is due the first Wednesday back in Term 3
You need to collect 2 newspaper, magazines, online articles that look specifically at the concepts of prejudice, discrimination, stereotypes and racism. This really shouldn't be a hard task - articles of this type are easily accessible.
PS - Both Miranda and I were super impressed with the way in which you conducted yourself on the excursion. The comments from the DAX staff about your input and intelligence were overwhelming - thank you.
