The Beautiful Mind: Global Perceptions of Mental Health

About

In this course we will discuss the concept of culture and its importance to look further than just diagnostic criteria for mental health illness.

How do Chile and Egypt compare in terms of their treatment options for anxiety? How do refugees access mental health systems in host countries? What is normal in relation to mental health, and does normal even exist? We invite students to explore questions such as these and travel with us “down the rabbit hole” of global mental health. This course will offer a broad perspective on mental health through discussions of the most prevalent and impactful mental health disorders around the world and the complexity of mental health as a public health issue.

This course will begin with an introduction to global mental health followed by in-depth lectures and workshops on history and trends in global mental health, including the importance of cultural sensitivity and systems thinking. Students will work together in groups to use this newly acquired knowledge to debate the ambiguity of mental health and to compare treatment options of a specific mental health issue in two different countries.

Course leader

Dr. Elena V. Syurina, Dr. W. Scholte and Dr. Mitzi Waltz

Target group

Open to Beginner and Advanced Bachelor's, and Master's students. For students interested in Mental health from a broad perspective or those who would like to see further than DSM and ICD.

Course aim

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Describe the history and current trends in global mental health
• Explore the contextual, structural, and individual factors and inherent ambiguity that influences mental health status and service provision
• Critically assess and debate the complexity and ambiguity of mental health problems
• Take an interdisciplinary approach to the issues of mental health and gain insight into how mental health is connected to other health-related problems
• Critically contrast and compare approaches to a specific mental health topic in different countries
• Meet and work together with peers from various countries and backgroundsHave basic knowledge about the mental health organisation (from diagnosis to rehabilitation)

Fee info