Challenging ideas in mental health
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Ideas about the concept of mental health are hotly contested, and often personally and intellectually challenging. This course invites you to think differently about life’s dilemmas by considering the views of all concerned, especially people experiencing mental distress. Using a holistic framework, it explores ideas and practice in mental health – encouraging you to review your own beliefs and experiences and to challenge yourself and others on a more informed footing. The course will appeal to a wide range of people – workers in health and social care, service users/survivors, friends and families, and anyone with a general interest in this complex and challenging topic.
Fees 2012
See fees and funding options for study from September 2012.
Course facts
An undergraduate course in Health and Social Care.
| About this course: | |
|---|---|
| Course code | KYN272 |
| Credits | 30 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 8 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: |
|---|
| 3 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) |
| Examination |
| No residential school |
Register for the course
This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees and financial support may vary by country.
What you will study
This course looks at mental health from a holistic perspective which covers five dimensions of the person – social, emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual. Using this holistic perspective, the course grounds itself in emerging and contemporary debates in mental health. You will consider the influence of the life-course and life events on mental health alongside the development and significance of personality. You will explore the growing awareness of mental health challenges facing both younger and older people, as well as the complex issues facing people who also have physical or learning disabilities. You will also look at the wider implications and possibilities for mental health services, including the use of alternative and complementary approaches, as well as ideas underpinning the contested concept of ‘recovery’.
By the end of the course you should have developed knowledge and understanding of:
- the range, complexity and dilemmas of diverse perspectives in the field of mental health and distress
- a holistic model for understanding mental health and distress
- the importance of service users’/survivors’ experiences and perspectives
- how mental health issues affect everyone
- the structure of contemporary mental health services, including legislation, policy, planning and delivery.
This course consists of four separate blocks, each integrating printed learning materials with media resources and activities.
Block 1 – Shifting boundaries – explores the theme of boundaries; boundaries within and between groups, within and between different explanatory frameworks, and within and between experiences of mental health and distress. It introduces and explores a holistic framework for understanding mental health and distress using a range of experiences – social, emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual.
Block 2 – Searching for understandings – charts a journey through a range of experiences, drawing on understandings about children and the development of personality through to old age. It explores the differences and similarities between disability and mental distress, and considers how issues such as drug and alcohol misuse are addressed by health and social care services.
Block 3 – Helpful responses? – addresses a range of issues concerning the diverse ways in which responses to mental distress are produced and experienced; for example how different models of intervention and therapeutic approaches are used and evidenced. It examines the complexity and problematic nature of the concept of risk. It explores the meaning of care as it relates to the experiences of service users, carers and mental health professionals, as well as the role of ‘talking therapies’ and the contribution of complementary and alternative approaches to mental health.
Block 4 – Dilemmas and challenges – explores some of the many challenges and dilemmas faced by service users/survivors and workers in mental health services posed, for example, by the pharmaceutical industry and advocacy. It also examines the contested concept of ‘recovery’ in the context of mental health, reviewing the barriers to adopting a ‘recovery model’ and developing ideas about its practical application.
Entry
This course is open only to students on the Pre-registration Nursing Programme who are sponsored by their employer and registered as part of a group. Therefore, no individual course fee applies. Students will have completed the Common Foundation Programme.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
You will receive guidance of how to get started online in your first course mailing. This will provide you with information on using your computer for OU study and working with the Computing Guide. For example, it explains how to access and use your website and online discussion forums. If you have time before the course starts, you can work through this and explore all the online services available to you.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Other alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our publication Meeting Your Needs.
You can also find information about accessible study materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
What's included
Course books, other printed materials, CDs and CD-ROM. You will have access to a website through which teaching and library resources are available. Electronic versions of most of the printed study materials are provided on the website.
You will need
A CD player.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. Some of your course software will be provided on disk.
You will need internet access and a computer with Microsoft Office installed. The software on this module has some advanced features that only work in the proprietary versions of Microsoft Office. If you don't already have Microsoft Office, you can take advantage of a special educational offer.
If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2005 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you cannot use an Apple Mac or Linux computer unless it is running Windows using Boot Camp or similar dual-boot system.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
The role of your tutor is to facilitate your understanding of the ideas and concepts in the course. Feedback on your assignments is comprehensive and personalised and enables you to identify your strengths and weaknesses.
Your tutor will organise and run a series of tutorials, which are compulsory on this course. At these you will undertake practical work but also have a chance to discuss some of the issues that crop up in your studies, both with your tutor and with fellow students.
You’ll also have a mentor on all your practice placements that assess your clinical skills and practice. Your mentor draws on evidence you bring to the assessed practice situation. Evidence of this assessment is verified by your mentor, and recorded in your portfolio. Another key person who supports you throughout your work on the programme is your practice tutor. This person is a knowledgeable practitioner who has an overview of your progress through the programme and who is able to see you holistically (in much the same way as the programme encourages you to see others holistically). Your practice tutor comes to see you and your mentor at various times in your practice placements and works with both of you to examine how you are getting on and adds further verification to your portfolio.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
Professional recognition
This course is one of a set of modules that together constitute an approved programme that leads to the professional qualification of Registered Nurse (Part 13: NMC (Part 1 on the new register from April 2004)).
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2012. We expect it to be available once a year.
Fees 2012
See fees and funding options for study from September 2012.
Course facts
An undergraduate course in Health and Social Care.
| About this course: | |
|---|---|
| Course code | KYN272 |
| Credits | 30 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 8 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: |
|---|
| 3 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) |
| Examination |
| No residential school |
Study explained
- Financial support
- - find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.
- Study explained
- - all you need to know about distance learning with the OU.
Your questions
We may have already answered it in our frequently asked questions.
Or contact an adviser in our Student Registration & Enquiry Service Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90+44(0) 845 366 60 35
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