In today’s world, mental illness and distress are common and these account for a significant burden of disability within our community. At the same time, there is a growing interest in understanding and enhancing positive mental health and wellbeing; particularly from developments in the fields of positive psychology and mental health promotion. Positive Psychiatry is a new term (Jeste et al 2016) that describes a dual approach to mental health, where we build strengths, supports and healthy lifestyles as well as treating illness and distress.
In this course, we will explore different aspects of good mental health as well as provide an overview of the major kinds of mental disorders, their causes, treatments and how to seek help and support. The course will feature a large number of Australian experts in psychiatry, psychology and mental health research, and we will also hear from “lived experience experts”, people who have lived with mental illness, and share their personal stories of recovery.
We take an evidence-based approach to a range of strategies that anyone can use to enhance their own mental health and that of others, from exercise and relaxation techniques through to the role of love, relationships and 'good' types of work. We cover topics from creativity and yoga through to psychiatric medications and psychotherapies.
Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health
Overview
Syllabus
- Module 1 - Positive mental health and Psychiatry
- Welcome to the MOOC! Get yourself acquainted. This module is about positive mental health, stress and recovery, and some of the important findings from Aristotle through to recent research on the correlates to happiness.
- Module 2 - Body and Mind
- This module is about the body and mind. We will learn about the central importance of physical health and lifestyle, and how exercise can be used as an evidence-based treatment for common mental health conditions. We will cover basic relaxation and mindfulness strategies, as well as personality strengths, and how to identify your own strengths.
- Module 3 - Love and Work
- Mental health has sometimes been described simply as the capacity to love and to work. Psychiatry still uses similar concepts today. In this module, we talk about love and work, and introduce the complementary ideas of rest and play. We hear about attachment theory, social connections and the ancient wisdom of Australian Aboriginal views on wellbeing. We discuss the importance of contributing and here you find out whether or not work is good for you.
- Module 4 - Mental Illness
- In this module, we cover the major categories of mental illness: their symptoms, causes and treatments. This includes the more common conditions such as anxiety, depression and addictions, as well as less common mental illnesses such as psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
- Module 5 - Paths to Recovery
- In this module, we will detail some of the many paths to recovery. From early intervention through the philosophy of personal recovery, consumer support networks, creative arts as therapy as well as spiritual and religious practices.
Taught by
Jo Lockwood and Sonia Kumar
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Reviews
4.9 rating, based on 21 Class Central reviews
4.8 rating at Coursera based on 3647 ratings
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Excellent course. Thoroughly recommended (as I did to my doctor). I learnt a lot. Have done a couple similar courses and this is much more comprehensive and inciting. Could not finish in times allotted, so signed up twice again to complete. Didn't do any assignments (because I loath writing essays!) and did not interact with fellow students (my choice) so I didn't "pass". Found some difficulty with continuity of course esp with session timelines and thought I may have missed something so I disregarded deadlines and plowed on. Well worth repeating this course.
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positive psychiatry and mental health is very informative and learning ,knowledgeable course . we learned lot of information about neurotransmitter like serotonin which control moods,sleep,libido,etc and hormone like endorphin which has positive effect on brain not only hormones we learned that good exercise like breathing exercise and healthy nutrition antenatal and after ,both r important for positive mental health.infect stay connected with family and friends and community will have positive effect on you,try to have get together not daily but once or twice in week is good idea,try to stay away from Alcohol and drugs.
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DAMIS MASSONFoi maravilhoso eu gosto muito desse curso, tira um certificado e bem legal. Eu vou ajudar muitos gentes pra participar. -
I am very interested into positive psychology so taking this course on positive psychiatry was a must. I liked the content of the course - the modules and lesson were following each other in a logical way creating a picture about mental health issues and how to manage those. I also got plenty of research based tips how to improve my quality of life and be healthier. And last but not least I repeated some information that I will need for my final exam. I highly recommend this course to everyone.
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I liked the course so much..I completed it with a grade of 92 %. It is very comprehensive and interesting for anyone who wish to help himself and others to live a better life. For me, I experienced some easy parts and some challenging parts of the course. I hope grading will be less strict about the word counts in essays..Away from this, I recommended the course to many friends in different countries. Finally, I thank everyone who shared in the preparation of the course.
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Dr.sunil KumarI am very interested into positive psychology so taking this course on positive psychiatry was a must. I liked the content of the course - the modules and lesson were following each other in a logical way creating a picture about mental health issues and how to manage those. I also got plenty of research based tips how to improve my quality of life and be healthier. And last but not least I repeated some information that I will need for my final exam. I highly recommend this course to everyone. -
I found this course not only to be personally beneficial but the breadth of information was invaluable in pursuing my interest in positive mental health. The video talks are interesting, punctuated with questions, to make sure you're paying attention, and I was able to put many of the recommendations into practice whilst also discussing some of the very interesting concepts with my peers. Thank you for a great course!
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Excellent self-help course. Learnt a lot. Recommend highly (as I did to my doctor). Have done a couple of similar courses but this was more informative and different. Had to restart course 3 times because of difficulty keeping up with timeline. So I chose not to do the assignments ( I loath writing essays) and did not interact with fellow students. Also some problems with continuity, so disregarded reminders and plowed on. Will probably repeat it.
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Congratulations for this wonderful course!! I love how it helps to demystify mental illness and its consequences. Its positive and proactive approach, and the deep understanding that allows to acquire on the root causes of mental issues, and techniques to overcome and integrate them into a meaningful life, helps to trust the skills that all human beings show to grow, improve own life and help others to thrive.
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This is the first and the best course I took. The load is just right. It is very applicable. It has helped myself, my family and my circle of community. Hoping that more and more people will benefit from this course. Two thumbs up for Ms Sonia Kumar for organising this course.
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Great course. I learnt enormous amounts, with the addition of great readings to read later, plus enough practical assignments to consolidate my learnings. I thoroughly recommend it.
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It is an excellent course with proper contents and very comprehensive. This course helps to develop individual's skills in the field of mental health and psychology.
I would definitely recommend the course.
Regards
Meg -
To be taught by the founder of positive psychology is amazing. In addition Seligman teaches in an interesting and interactive way. I suggest this course to all my therapy clients.
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Anna DGreat introduction to positive psychiatry. The course follows a logical structure that progressives in an organic way, it offers many different perspectives and the variety of subjects and material covered enrich the overall experience. This course… -
The characteristics of human behavior , it varied. Compare to languages , characters and human behaviour.
As a psychiatric dr or nurse you need to approach individual patients with different attitude.
Constant monitoring of patients health is important(daily observations by health professionals is also essential).
Society nd environment at which patients leave can also have effect on patients -
The course provides basic understanding in mental health, useful resources and comprehensive strategies to maintain a good quality of life. Lessons are designed in a logical and interactive way. Teaching staff is also very approachable and friendly. I highly recommend the course to everyone who needs it.
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This course was recommended to me by a health professional and I found it really helpful to understand the different mental health conditions and useful ways of managing my mental health. It was easy to complete but had really valuable information resources that I can keep for use after the course.
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This is the first and the best course I took. The load is just right. It is very applicable. It has helped myself, my family and my circle of community. Hoping that more and more people will benefit from this course. Two thumbs up for Ms Sonia Kumar for organising this course.
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This is the first and the best course I took. The load is just right. It is very applicable. It has helped myself, my family and my circle of community. Hoping that more and more people will benefit from this course. Two thumbs up for Ms Sonia Kumar for organising this course.
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This is the first and the best course I took. The load is just right. It is very applicable. It has helped myself, my family and my circle of community. Hoping that more and more people will benefit from this course. Two thumbs up for Ms Sonia Kumar for organising this course.
