From Madness to Mental Health

Course designed and taught using a Mad Studies lens to 4th year undergraduate social work students.

Dance, Grade 9, Open (ATC1O) This course gives students the opportunity to explore their technical and compositional skills by applying the elements of dance and the tools of composition in a variety of performance situations. Students will generate movement through structured and unstructured improvisation, demonstrate an understanding of safe practices with regard to themselves and others in the dance environment, and identify the function and significance of dance within the global community.

Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 2019

Who knows where ideas come from that sprout and burgeon into exciting adventures with equally magnificent results? In this case, Marcia had just invented a psychoanalysis minor at Colorado College, after having received her second Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (the first was in Classical Philology), primarily because she saw a dearth of any psychoanalytic theory in the Psychology Department's predominantly cognitive and behavioral curriculum. It then occurred that her husband and Professor of Philosophy, John Riker, at the invitation of Jonathan Lear, became the Kohut Professor at the University of Chicago in the fall of 2003. During that semester, he gave a public lecture on "The Life of the Soul," which he was also invited (by Arnold Goldberg) to give to the Chicago meeting of self-psychologists, at which time we had the chance to meet, among others, Marian Tolpin, Sallie Jenkins, Ernest Wolf, David Terman, Allen Siegel, and many other talented and intelligent self psychologists. We also attended a "Meet the Author" program at the Psychoanalytic Institute and were amazed at the originality and depth of ideas we were hearing. When we returned home, Marcia longingly expressed the wish that we could have these exceptionally gifted people come to speak at Colorado College for our psychoanalysis minor. But we both understood that this would be much too expensive. Then John said: "Well, if we can't bring them here, why don't we go to them?" There followed a phone call to David Terman, at this point Director of the Institute, a meeting with his colleagues on the Board, and it was done! That simple! And so, in 2007 the course came into existence. It has been 11 years now since we have been bringing our Colorado College students to the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute in the summer for a course lasting for a month or so, which we have entitled "Contemporary Psychoanalysis: Theory and Practice." Almost 200 students have taken the course or a second course we added for several years, "Psychoanalysis, Culture, and Society." Students interact with as many as 15 analysts in 17 days-analysts who give their time to come to discuss their recent writing, present case studies or vignettes, or, really, talk about whatever they choose to, including talking about their careers in psychoanalysis. Although the analysts are the star attractions, we are the keepers of the class. We assign readings, read papers, discuss what the psychoanalysts have said, tie thematic threads together, direct the students to formulate pre-questions before each class and write postclass responses. The final capstone for the course is an annotated bibliography or longer paper on some topic that has fascinated them in the course or the analysis of a work of art from the Art Institute of Chicago. It is, without a doubt, the crown of our psychoanalysis minor, with a large majority of our students saying that it is the best and most stimulating course they have ever had at Colorado College-not surprising, as they are introduced to so many creative minds! A number of these students go on to receive higher degrees in the field of mental health. It is also the most personally stimulating and refreshing course we teach, as we get to be learners ourselves in this extraordinary classroom experience. To be able to sit with and feel the energy of these multifaceted psychoanalysts and therapists, all of whom sparkle with the fire of love for their profession, and to watch them interact with our students-and to be aware of how much our CONTACT Marcia D-S. Dobson, Ph.D.

2018

Journal Plus Education, 2017

In this article we want to depict aspects of mental health as integrating part of human and social health. We would also like to have an insight into the freshman students` knowledge so as to find out their level of knowledge, attitude and mentality towards mental disorders and people suffering from a mental condition. Stigmatization towards people with mental disorders is still common in the social mentality. These attitudes contradict social orientations towards human beings and their interests. Social distance brings about serious consequences upon the professional rehabilitation and reinsertion of this social category. They are regarded as a category facing serious restrictions in terms of human rights. In our study we are trying to identify the freshman students` opinion, attitude, mentality and orientation towards the understanding of such a complex issue like mental disorders. We wish that the future professionals in the field of psychology, psycho-pedagogy, social work and p...

Putting Theory into Practice, 2011

Education includes more than the cognitive transmission of knowledge. Learning requires an affective and psychomotor component as well. Psychiatrists are uniquely qualified to appreciate, and apply, core tenets of the educational process.

This paper describes a tutorial programme developed at the University of Western Australia (UWA) to enhance medical students' learning processes within problem-based learning contexts. The programme encourages students to use more effective learning approaches by scaffolding the development of effective problem-solving strategies, and by reducing examination anxiety. The programme adds to a growing body of work on methods to augment problem-based teaching practices in psychiatry education.