Program Overview

Program Overview

The program in question appears to be a university course titled "PHIL513 - Ethical Perspectives on Mental Illness." This course is designed to introduce students to various paradigms for understanding mental illness and perspectives on the treatment of those suffering from such conditions.

Unit Rationale, Description, and Aim

The unit aims to explore the complexities concerning differing perspectives on mental illness and the limitations of particular paradigms. It also reflects on problems concerning the clinical treatment of patients suffering from mental illness and issues of inherent human dignity.

Learning Outcomes

To successfully complete this unit, students will be able to:

1. Analyse some of the complexities concerning differing perspectives on mental illness, and the limitations of particular paradigms.
2. Reflect insightfully on problems concerning the clinical treatment of patients suffering from mental illness and issues of inherent human dignity.
3. Critically assess issues concerning freedom and responsibility, and autonomy and risk, in terms of the mentally ill person.

Content

Topics chosen from the following broad areas:

• The concept of mental illness, and the problem of its definition.
• Limitations of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders) as a way of categorising mental illness.
• Medical and social understandings of mental illness.
• Mental illness, free will and responsibility.
• The dignity of the mentally ill patient in treatment contexts, and the problem of power differentials in the provision of care.
• The social stigma around mental illness, the problem of discrimination, and its clinical implications.
• Benefits and limitations of a human rights approach to mental illness.
• Difficulties around finding a balance between promoting autonomy and preventing harm.
• Issues around personal identity, self-understanding, and relationships with others in community.

Assessment Strategy and Rationale

The assessment strategy for this unit is designed to facilitate broad engagement across the topics covered, while also requiring deeper engagement with one of the unit topics in particular. The assessments include:

• Tutorial oral and associated short written task (20%): Requires students to demonstrate skills in written and spoken exposition and analysis of a text.
• Written analysis task (30%): Requires students to demonstrate understanding of key concepts and debates.
• Argumentative/Research Essay (50%): Requires students to critically analyse an important debate in the field and to develop a coherent position.

Learning and Teaching Strategy and Rationale

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, including formally structured learning activities such as lectures, tutorials, and online learning. The unit has been designed as a blend of collaborative learning and project-based learning approaches, combined with direct instruction to introduce and draw out new and unfamiliar concepts and theories.

Representative Texts and References

A list of representative texts and references is provided, including works by various authors on the topics of mental illness, psychiatry, and philosophical perspectives on these issues.

Credit Points and Year

The course is worth 10 credit points and is scheduled for the year 2026.