SC326-6-AU-CO:
Psychiatry and Mental Illness
2021/22
Sociology and Criminology
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Thursday 07 October 2021
Friday 17 December 2021
15
07 October 2021
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
In the first term, Concepts, Boundaries and Causes, we will start by looking at some of the different types of mental illness now included in formal psychiatric classifications such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). We will then explore their foundation in medicine's categorical model of disease, the criticisms of the DSM, the way the boundaries of mental illness have changed and expanded over time, some of the reasons for the expansion, and at analyses of the concepts of mental health and illness and at mental health globally. We will also examine epidemiological studies seeking to assess levels of mental illness, its social distribution, and the measures they use. This leads on to key issues about causation, including the role of genetic and brain processes, the impact of childhood adversity, the role of life events, and of cultural processes. At the end of this 15-credit module students will have an understanding of the term mental illness, of the ways mental illnesses have been classified and measured, and of the changing boundaries of mental illness as well as its distribution across social groups. They will also have some knowledge of the data on the different causes of mental illness.
In the second term the focus is on Mental Health Services and Treatment. We will look at the development of asylum care, the location for the emergence of psychiatry as a profession, the growth of office psychiatry, and then at the twentieth century move into the community. We will examine current mental health services, issues of violence, legal detention and stigma, the power of psychiatrists and the role played by other professionals in the mental health field: clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers and mental health workers. We will then look at the different types of treatment for mental illness - physical and psychological - including digital therapies, and at how they can be evaluated, and what the evaluations show. At the end of this 15-credit module students will have an understanding of the changing ways in which societies have responded to madness and mental illness, of the professionals involved and of current services and treatments.
The aim of these two 15-credit modules, which can be taken as a single 30-credit module, is to look critically at the field of mental illness, at psychiatric thinking and practice, and at mental health services.
To explore and understand the field of mental illness.
Please click on the link below to view the Introduction video to SC326 Psychiatry and Mental Illness
https://essex-university.zoom.us/rec/play/0pwYxaOBilgYnO7z_E-2TyYtnMw8SQQJXViQb2dPYu8hRfOykTVQdHkq0W5D3hvP5HxhedMwlzpKTBRK.h1bCwPjPATSX5X5W?continueMode=true
Teaching approach
As there are still restrictions related to COVID-19 in place, some of the teaching on most modules will take place online. Most modules in Sociology are divided into lectures of around 50 minutes and a class of around 50 minutes. Some are taught as a 2hr seminar, and others via a 50-minute lecture and 2-hr lab. For the majority of modules the lecture-type content will be delivered online – either timetabled as a live online session or available on Moodle in the form of pre-recorded videos. Most classes, labs and seminars will be taught face-to-face (assuming social distancing allows this). You will be expected to watch this material and engage with any suggested activities before your class each week.
In the case of SC326, in both its full-time and single term variants, the lectures which will be delivered live online. They will provide an overview of the substantive debates around the topic of the week, while the classes will give you the opportunity to reflect on your learning and actively engage with your peers to develop your understanding further. The weekly classes will take place face-to-face (unless there is a change in the current COVID safety measures). You are strongly encouraged to attend the classes and to do the relevant reading before the class, as they provide an opportunity to talk with your class teacher and other students about the relevant topic. The classes will be captured and available via Listen Again. However, if you want to gain the most you can from these classes it is very important that you attend and engage. Please note that the recording of classes is at the discretion of the teacher. There are two assignments each term (and the final exam – see below), as well as the required reading for each week.
Please note that you should be spending up to eight hours per week undertaking your own private study (reading, preparing for classes or assignments, etc.) on each of your modules (e.g. 32 hours in total across four 30-credit modules).
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Short Essay |
|
20% |
| Coursework |
Essay |
|
80% |
| Exam |
Main exam: 24hr during Summer (Main Period)
|
Additional coursework information
Please note that assessment information is currently showing for 2018-19 and will be updated in August 2019
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Joan Busfield, email: busfj@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Tara Mahfoud, email: tara.mahfoud@essex.ac.uk.
Professor Joan Busfield, Dr Tara Mahfoud
Jane Harper, Undergraduate Administrator, Telephone: 01206 873052
E-mail: socugrad@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
Yes
Dr Jennifer Fleetwood
Goldsmiths, University of London
Senior Lecturer in Criminology
Available via Moodle
Of 60 hours, 58 (96.7%) hours available to students:
2 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
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