1. On not jumping ship Mental health teaching in psychology Jill Anderson John Cromby

2. Overview  Introductions, aims  The Undergraduate survey  Discussions  Feedback and where next?

3. Aims  To present findings from a survey which examined mental health teaching within undergraduate psychology programmes  To consider implications for clinical psychology  To provide information about recent developments in mental health education, the interdisciplinary mhhe project & psychology network mental health group

4. Why is this important?  Influences recruitment to clinical psychology  Gets the right people onto programmes & avoids the need for unlearning  Provides a launch pad for Graduate Primary Care Mental Health Workers as well as psychology graduates who go into other disciplines (nursing, law etc.)  Addresses our ethical responsibilities to students who are service users  Promotes diversity and wider participation  Informs informal proliferation of psychology into everyday life

5. Background to the survey  Mental Health in Higher Education Project  Scoping accounts  Intra- as well as inter-disciplinary focus  Case studies of learning and teaching in psychology  Psychology Network Mini-project funding bid

6. SURVEY OVERVIEW  Methodology  Response rate  The Sample  Mental Health Modules  Mental Health Teaching

7. Methodology  Questionnaire –Programme information –Mental health teaching information –Information about specific modules  Postal and online distribution

8. Methodology  Sampling –Exhaustive web search to identify possible relevant teachers –AHPD distribution list

9. Methodology  Initial postal distribution Sept 2004  Two email reminders  One postal reminder  Final email reminder  Follow ups to personal contacts

10. Response Rate  Original distribution: 457 individuals and departments  72 total responses > 65  59% of AHPD distribution list

11. The Sample  61 accredited for GBR  56 (86%) had a specific MH module –51 (91%) available each year –41 (74%) level 3/4 –compulsory for 20 (35%) –Students 15-400, median 90 –Median hours teaching 24

12. Mental Health Modules  Models or frameworks used in teaching  Cognitive-behavioural 46 (82%)  Psychiatry 46 (82%)  Psychosocial 41 (73%)  Diathesis-stress 39 (69%)  Socio-cultural 37 (66%)  Freudian 33 (59%)  Humanistic 25 (45%)  Family systems theory 18 (32%)

13. Mental Health Modules  Models or frameworks used in teaching:  12 based their modules around a single model –7 cognitive-behavioural –3 psychiatric –2 others

14. Mental Health Modules  Textbooks –14 used Davison & Neale –52 books with “abnormal” in the title in the title -Vast majority of books based uncritically on DSM

15. -Mental Health Modules  Critiques of the medical model:  42 (75%) included some critiques –27 (64%) mentioned Szasz –26 (62%) mentioned Laing –19 (45%) mentioned Bentall –11 (26%) mentioned Boyle –9 (21%) mentioned Foucault –9 (21%) others

16. Mental Health Modules  Use of outside speakers:  25 (44%) use outside speakers –23 clinical psychologists –5 psychiatrists –3 social workers –2 service users –2 others

17. Mental Health Modules  Could these modules be improved? –22 (39%) said yes –9 too busy to make changes –Wider range of models –No undergraduates –Stronger theoretical base –Service user involvement

18. Mental Health Teaching  How could mental health teaching in psychology be improved?  49% more input from service users  40% more input from clinical psychology  25% more input from counselling  26% more input from philosophy  21% more input from psychiatry  21% more input from sociology  15% more input from cognitive science

19. Mental Health Teaching  How could mental health teaching in psychology be improved?  More multi-disciplinary  Closer links to practice –Psychoanalysis –Paid placements for UGs

20. Mental Health Teaching  Barriers to improvement  Time pressure  Difficulty of finding/persuading suitably qualified staff  Prejudice and stereotypes  Overcrowded (BPS) curriculum  Student resistance to taboo issues  Difficulty of integrating perspectives/models

21. Mental Health Teaching General comments Better textbooks needed What should we call it? Too medical More practitioner and user input needed

22. Summary  Most psychology degrees address this area although it isn’t on the BPS curriculum  Most teaching apparently eclectic although most relies on textbooks based on DSM  Need for input: many academic staff feel insufficiently qualified/experienced to teach

23. Summary  Development of practitioner links  More appropriate resources  Support and guidance to involve service users

24. The undergraduate survey  What are its implications for what/how we teach within clinical psychology? (including recruitment to clinical psychology teaching)  What does it suggest that we might offer to/gain from colleagues involved in teaching undergraduate psychology (and what are the barriers to this?)

25. Learning and teaching about mental health - developments  Follow on from U/G survey –Psychologist special issue –Resource list –BJCP article –Textbook? –Psychology network MH group  mhhe

26. mhhe: areas of activity www.mhhe.heacademy.ac.uk

27. Where next?