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Minds on

MINDS ON

This is the discussion icon. Mental Health

 

Why is an understanding of mental health so complex? Use what you have learned already in this unit to address this question. 

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Action.

ACTION

This is the dropbox icon. A Psychological Profile

There are a multitude of personality tests online that can provide insight into one’s psychological profile. Below is a sampling of such tests. Complete two or more of these personality tests and compose a psychological profile of yourself from the information you receive from the tests.  

Be aware that there are many online tests that will try to direct you to a diagnosis and a treatment, usually at significant cost, or to purchase from the site itself. These are not reliable sites. True diagnoses can only occur through a consultation with a doctor or psychologist.

Also, consider the way that some of the theories we previously investigated might be applied in order to determine elements of your personality. For example: 

  • Trait Theories attempt to learn what traits make up personality and how they relate to actual behaviour;
  • Psychodynamic Theories focus on the inner workings of personality, especially internal conflicts and struggles;
  • Humanistic Theories focus on private, subjective experiences and personal growth;
  • Social-Cognitive Theories attribute differences in personality to socialization, expectations, and mental processes.

Create a summary of your psychological profile, based on your results.

Be creative! It can be an oral, visual, or written response, as long as it provides a summary that includes the following:

  • What did you learn about yourself?
  • What do you think about the results you obtained?
  • How does personality impact the way in which we interact with others? Do you see this portrayed accurately in your own results?
  • How does an understanding of personality shape an understanding of mental health?

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Mental Health and Well Being

We often use or hear the terms ‘mental health’ and ‘well-being’ without really stopping to think about what they mean. The Canadian Mental Health Association outlines these key characteristics to help define one’s mental health:

  • Ability to enjoy life – Can you live in the moment and appreciate the “now?” Are you able to learn from the past and plan for the future without dwelling on things you can’t change or predict?
  • Resilience – Are you able to bounce back from hard times? Can you manage the stress of a serious life event without losing your optimism and a sense of perspective?
  • Balance – Are you able to juggle the many aspects of your life? Can you recognize when you might be devoting too much time to one aspect, at the expense of others? Are you able to make changes to restore balance when necessary?
  • Self-actualization – Do you recognize and develop your strengths so that you can reach your full potential?
  • Flexibility – Do you feel, and express, a range of emotions? When problems arise, can you change your expectations – of life, others, yourself – to solve the problem and feel better?

Source

This graphic helps define what we mean when we talk about well-being:

This graphic shows four circles surrounding a central circle that contains the words Self and Spirit. The surrounding four circles are titled physical, cognitive, emotional, and social. These are further defined in the activity itself.

The Four Domains of Well-Being include:

  • Cognitive, or the development of abilities and skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and the ability to be flexible and innovative.
  • Emotional, or learning about experiencing emotions, and understanding how to recognize, manage and cope with them.
  • Social, or the development of self-awareness, including the sense of belonging, collaboration, relationships with others, and communication skills; and
  • Physical, or the development of the body, impacted by physical activity, sleep patterns, healthy eating, and healthy life choices.

This is the Portfolio icon. Think About It...

  • When you think about the four domains of well-being, where in your life do you see these in balance, or out of balance?
  • In your own life, what impact does one domain have on the other, in terms of balance?
  • How might you work towards balancing the four domains in your own life?
Go To Portfolio
 

Understanding Disorders and Using the DSM5

So far, in learning about why we act and interact the way we do, we have studied:

  • prominent psychologists and their work that has contributed to our understanding;
  • perspectives or schools of thought (definition:biological, psychodynamic, behaviourist, cognitive, humanist.) that help us understand the psychological processes behind the way in which we act and interact; and
  • various approaches to studying psychology (definition:clinical, personality, abnormal, developmental.) that expand our understanding from different perspectives.

Now, let’s take what we have learned to explore the concepts of mental health, mental illness, and mental disorder. Below are two sample diagnoses of mental disorder from the DSM5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed). 

Please note: these activities are exploratory only. You will not be creating a diagnosis or a treatment plan. These exercises are only designed to get you thinking more deeply and to experience how psychologists learn more about the psychological processes behind actions and behaviour.

Did You Know...?

If ever you or someone you know needed immediate care or medical advice, you can contact:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Read this article, Diagnostic Criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder from Pearson Clinical (Original article)

If you want to view any links in this pdf, right click and select "Open Link in New Tab" to avoid leaving this page. (View the original article.)

 
  • How might psychodynamic theorists help explain the root causes of general anxiety disorder (i.e.  Ainsworth and attachment theory, Erikson and trust versus mistrust, etc.)?
  • How might a humanist theorist, like Maslow or Rogers, approach treatment for a generalized anxiety disorder? 
  • Research what biological factors might contribute to generalized anxiety disorder.

 

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

Read this article, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder from Pearson Clinical (Original article)

If you want to view any links in this pdf, right click and select "Open Link in New Tab" to avoid leaving this page. (View the original article.)

  • How might the work of Bandura compare to the work of Maslow when exploring the diagnosis of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder? What additional prominent psychologists would you link to the understanding of this disorder? In what ways does his or her work help in our understanding?
  • What can we learn about this disorder and possible recovery treatments from behaviourists, like Pavlov and Skinner?
  • Which theory, approach, or theorist are you having the most difficulty applying to an understanding of this disorder? What is it about the specific theory, approach, or person’s work that does not seem to fit for you?

This is the discussion icon. Understanding Mental Health

Overall, how do you think your knowledge so far in theories, approaches, and prominent psychologists’ work is helping you in understanding mental health?

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Consolidation

CONSOLIDATION

This is the dropbox icon. Understanding Disorders

Choose one of the updated disorders from the DSM5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed) to complete the following activity. You can consult the sources listed below, and more if you wish, to facilitate your learning for this task. Be sure to document all your sources.

Task:

  • Briefly define and describe the disorder according to the fact sheet.
  • Choose one theoretical perspective (biological, psychodynamic, behaviourist, cognitive, humanist) from which to examine the disorder.  Explain in detail why you chose this perspective as the one that will assist best in your exploration of the disorder.
  • Choose one psychological approach (clinical, personality, abnormal, developmental) from which to examine the disorder.  Explain in detail why this approach can be helpful in your exploration of the disorder.
  • Identify at least one prominent psychologist’s work and apply his or her ideas to the disorder.  How does this person’s work help in your understanding of this specific disorder? Does his or her work align to the theoretical perspective you have chosen?  Why or why not? Be specific in your explanation.
  • In addition, identify one prominent theorist from those we have studied whose work does not assist in your understanding of this disorder.  Why does his or her work not fit in your exploration?
  • Identify one theoretical perspective that does not seem to help in understanding the disorder more fully.  What is it about this theoretical perspective that does not fit? Be specific in your explanation.
  • Provide a description of your experience using what you have learned so far to help you understand mental health more fully.
  • If you used additional sources to complete this assignment, provide a reference sheet documenting your sources uses APA style.
Submit Your Work
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