Mental Health Teaching to UK Psychology Undergraduates

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Mental Health Teaching to UK Psychology
Undergraduates

• John Cromby, Dave Harper and Paula Reavey

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OVERVIEW

• 1) Context
• 2) The Survey

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Context

• New psychological understandings of mental
  illness
• Move to clinical formulations rather than
  diagnoses
• Cognitive treatments focused on symptoms not
  illnesses
• Resurgence of anti-psychiatry (Critical
  Psychiatry Network)

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Context

• Better understandings of the role of social,
  material and experiential factors
• Read et al child abuse and psychosis
• Wilkinson social inequality
• Associations with class, ethnicity, gender
• Support from Mental Health in Higher Education
  Project and HEA Psychology

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The Survey

• Questionnaire
• Programme information
• Mental health teaching information
• Information about specific modules
• Postal and online distribution

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Methodology

• Sampling
• Exhaustive web search to identify possible
  relevant teachers
• AHPD distribution list

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Methodology

• Initial postal distribution Sept 2004
• Two email reminders
• One postal reminder
• Final email reminder
• Follow ups to personal contacts

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Response Rate

• Original distribution 348 individuals and 109
  departments
• 72 total responses gt 66
• 60 of AHPD distribution list

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The Sample

• 61(93) accredited for GBR (nationwide 66
  accredited)
• 57 (86) had a specific MH module
• 52 (91) available each year
• 42 (74) level 3/4
• compulsory for 20 (35)

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Mental Health Modules

• Student numbers 15 400
• Contact hours 2 48, median 24
• Module titles
• 18 (31) clinical
• 16 (28) abnormal
• 7 (12) psychopathology
• 4 (7) individual differences

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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)

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Mental Health Modules

• Models or frameworks used in teaching
• 12 based their modules around a single model
• 7 cognitive-behavioural
• 3 psychiatric
• 2 others

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Mental Health Modules

• Textbooks
• 30 used Davison Neale
• 52 (91) used books with abnormal
• in the title

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Mental Health Modules

• Critiques of the medical model
• 43 (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

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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

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Mental Health Modules

• Could these modules be improved?
• 20 (30) said yes
• 10 too busy to make changes
• Wider range of models
• No undergraduates!
• Stronger theoretical base
• Service user involvement

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Mental Health Teaching

• How could mental health teaching in psychology be
  improved?
• 50 more input from service users
• 39 more input from clinical psychology
• 27 more input from philosophy
• 26 more input from counselling
• 21 more input from psychiatry
• 21 more input from sociology
• 15 more input from cognitive science

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Mental Health Teaching

• Major strengths of existing teaching
• Applied/ real life orientation (33, K0.877)
• Diverse/eclectic (29, K 0.937)
• How could mental health teaching be improved?
• More multi-disciplinary/diverse (47, K0.517)

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Mental Health Teaching

• Barriers to improvement
• Difficulty of finding/recruiting clinicians (25,
  K1.0)
• Lack of appropriate resources (10, K0.933)

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Summary

• Most psychology degrees address this area
  although it isnt 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

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Summary

• Development of practitioner links
• More appropriate resources
• Support and guidance to involve service users