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The Beautiful Mind: Global Perceptions of Mental Health
Interdisciplinary Studies Program
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dates: 7/5/25 - 8/2/25
The Beautiful Mind: Global Perceptions of Mental Health
OVERVIEW
CEA CAPA Partner Institution: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Primary Subject Area: Neuroscience
Instruction in: English
Transcript Source: Partner Institution
Course Details: Level 300
Recommended Semester Credits: 3
Contact Hours: 45
DESCRIPTION
How young is too young to diagnose a child with bipolar disorder? What is the solution to alcohol addiction in South Korea? What is normal and does normal even exist? We invite students to explore questions such as these and travel with us "down the rabbit hole" of global mental health. The course will offer a broad perspective on mental health through discussions of the most prevalent and impactful mental health disorders around the world and the complexity of mental health as a public health issue.
The course will begin with an introduction to mental health followed by in-depth lectures and workshops on current mental health diagnostic methods. We will use this newly acquired knowledge to discuss treatment options both on an individual and community level. We will dive into the realm of policy-making and regulations on a national and international scale. Special attention will be paid to development of students? critical thinking by discussing the ambiguity of mental health. Lectures and workshops will focus on issues such as the ethics of mental health, cultural influences and stigma. Students will work together in groups to investigate and review questions of global mental health, analysing and reporting on topics through medical and cross-cultural psychiatric lenses.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Gain basic knowledge about the mental health organisation (from diagnosis to rehabilitation)
- Learn to understand the factors that influence mental health status and service provision both on national and international arena
- Take an interdisciplinary approach to the issues of mental health and gain insight how mental health is connected to other health-related problems
- Practice designing a mental health community based intervention
- Develop abilities to critically assess and debate about the complexity and ambiguity of mental health problems
- Meet and work together with peers from various countries and backgrounds
Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course. CEA CAPA's recommended credits are based on the contact hours assigned by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam): 15 contact hours equals 1 U.S. credit
The course will begin with an introduction to mental health followed by in-depth lectures and workshops on current mental health diagnostic methods. We will use this newly acquired knowledge to discuss treatment options both on an individual and community level. We will dive into the realm of policy-making and regulations on a national and international scale. Special attention will be paid to development of students? critical thinking by discussing the ambiguity of mental health. Lectures and workshops will focus on issues such as the ethics of mental health, cultural influences and stigma. Students will work together in groups to investigate and review questions of global mental health, analysing and reporting on topics through medical and cross-cultural psychiatric lenses.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Gain basic knowledge about the mental health organisation (from diagnosis to rehabilitation)
- Learn to understand the factors that influence mental health status and service provision both on national and international arena
- Take an interdisciplinary approach to the issues of mental health and gain insight how mental health is connected to other health-related problems
- Practice designing a mental health community based intervention
- Develop abilities to critically assess and debate about the complexity and ambiguity of mental health problems
- Meet and work together with peers from various countries and backgrounds
Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course. CEA CAPA's recommended credits are based on the contact hours assigned by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam): 15 contact hours equals 1 U.S. credit