Week 1: Mental Health

Question 1

What is mental health?

Answer 1

a state of mental well-being that enables people to:
- cope with the stresses of life
- realize their abilities
- learn well and work well
- contribute to their community

Question 2

What is the dual factor model for mental health?

Answer 2

• psychopathology
• well-being

Question 2

What are the four perspectives on mental health?

Answer 2

• empirical perspective
• developmental contextual perspective
• social constructionism perspective
• systems theory

Question 3

What is empirical perspective?

Answer 3

derived from experimentation

Question 4

What is empirical perspective as applied to mental health?

Answer 4

may involve quantifying or measuring different dimensions

Question 5

What is developmental contextual perspective?

Answer 5

bidirectional interactions between biological and environmental variables shape development

Question 6

What is developmental contextual perspective as applied to mental health?

Answer 6

• mental health is influenced by biological and environmental factors
• mental health also influences biological and environmental factors

Question 7

What is is social constructionism perspective?

Answer 7

any knowledge of reality is created by language, culture, and/or society and is not objectively or universally valid

Question 8

What is social constructionism perspective as applied to mental health?

Answer 8

• mental health disorder are often based on social norms or values
• culture and society shape a person’s response to symptoms/illness
• mental illnesses manifest differently across cultures
• different beliefs across cultures about the causes of mental illness may influence preferred treatment approaches

Question 9

What is systems theory?

Answer 9

any entity or phenomenon is viewed as part of a set of elements that interact with and depend on one another

Question 10

What is systems theory as applied to mental health?

Answer 10

• systems are self-organizing: patterns emerge from interaction of the components, and this organization promotes continuity
• small changes can create cascading effects
• systems may be re-organized or destabilized by environmental changes
• processes are non-linear

Question 11

What do clinical psychologists do?

Answer 11

• assessment
• intervention
• research
• consultation
• teaching

Question 12

What do clinical psychologists do in assessment?

Answer 12

• interviewing
• observation
• questionnaires
• diagnosis

Question 13

What do clinical psychologists do in intervention?

Answer 13

• therapy
• counselling
• organizational/systems change

Question 14

What do clinical psychologists do in research?

Answer 14

• observational
• experimental
• program evaluation

Question 15

What do clinical psychologists do in consultation?

Answer 15

• individual
• organizational

Question 16

What do clinical psychologists do in teaching?

Answer 16

• supervision
• training
• course instructor

Question 17

What are the social determinants of health?

Answer 17

• stress, bodies, and illness
• income and income distribution
• housing
• disability
• Indigenous ancestry
• gender
• race

Question 18

Stress, bodies, and illness

Answer 18

high levels of stress and long term stress impacts multiple domains (psychological, physiological) and living conditions

Question 19

Income and Income Distribution

Answer 19

suicide rates are doubled and life span is 20% lower in low income vs. high income neighbourhoods

Question 20

Housing

Answer 20

Canada has one of highest levels of low paying jobs and one of the highest family poverty rates

Question 21

Disability

Answer 21

employment disparities between people with disabilities

Question 22

Indigenous Ancestry

Answer 22

5-6x suicide rates in Indigenous compared to other Canadians due to various contributors such as food insecurity, housing, income, employment and education

Question 23

Gender

Answer 23

women experience more household responsibility, wage gap, career paths, morbidity, and mental health issues

Question 24

Race

Answer 24

multicultural countries are affected by racism due to economic and social deprivation, socially-inflicted trauma, inadequate or degrading medical care, degradation of ecosystem but are unaware