UNIT4+AOS+2+Mental+Health+Revision+Podcasts

__**UNIT 4 PSYCHOLOGY - VCAA study design 2011-2014**__


 * AREA OF STUDY 2**


 * Mental Health Revision Podcasts**


 * To download these podcasts you can go to Studywiz. If you have any feedback about content or sound quality please email me: ricci.edwina.j@edumail.vic.gov.au

What does mental health mean? How can ‘normality’ be defined? Is feeling stressed ‘normal’? What is the relationship between mental health and illness? How can mental wellbeing be enhanced? Students use a biopsychosocial framework to investigate how biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors interact to contribute to the development of an individual’s mental functioning and mental health. They identify the mechanisms underpinning the range of usual human emotions such as anxiety, stress, anger, sadness and happiness. Students learn to distinguish between normal or universal experiences such as stress, anxiety and moodiness, and chronic conditions such as addiction, depression, anxiety and phobias which fall into the category of mental illness or psychological disorder.

The relationship between stress and mental health is investigated together with the strategies for coping with stress. Students apply a biopsychosocial framework to the study of simple phobia and a selected mental disorder. They identify protective and risk factors, coping mechanisms and the principles of how treatments work. Students analyse how biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors interact to contribute to the development and treatment of these disorders. As students examine classic and contemporary studies, they evaluate the research methodologies used and consider associated ethical issues.

On completion of this unit the student should be able to differentiate between mental health and mental illness, and use a biopsychosocial framework to explain the causes and management of stress, simple phobia and a selected mental disorder. To achieve this outcome the student will draw on key knowledge outlined in Area of Study 2 and related key skills outlined on page 13 and research methodologies on page 28.
 * Outcome 2**

//Key knowledge// This knowledge includes: >> response, eustress and distress; strengths and limitations of Selyes’ General Adaptation >> Syndrome >> to stress) as a model that integrates biological, psychological and social factors that explain an >> individual’s response to stress >> social support
 * concepts of normality and differentiation of mental health from mental illness
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP1 - Normality, mental health and mental illness.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * systems of classification of mental conditions and disorders: underlying principles of classification; strengths and limitations of discrete categorical (DSM-IV and ICD-10) and dimensional (graded and transitional) approaches to classification of mental disorders
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP2 - systems of classification of mental conditions and disorders.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * media type="file" key="MEANTAL HEALTH - DP2 - systems of classification of mental conditions and disorders part 2.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP2 - classification of mental conditions and disorders part 3.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * use of a biopsychosocial framework (the interaction and integration of biological, psychological and social factors) as an approach to considering physical and mental health
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP3 - Biopsychosocial framework in relation to physical and mental health.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * application of a biopsychosocial framework to understanding the relationship between stress and physical and mental wellbeing: **an overview** media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP4 - Biopsychosocial framework and stress - an summary overview.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * physiological and psychological characteristics of responses to stress including fight-flight
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP4 - Biopsychosocial framework and stress - i fight-flight response, eustress, distress and GAS.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * psychological determinants of the stress response; strengths and limitations of Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP4 - Biopsychosocial framework and stress - ii Lazarus and Folkman.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * social, cultural and environmental factors that exacerbate and alleviate the stress response
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP4 - Biopsychosocial framework and stress - iii social, cultural and environmental factors.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * allostasis (stability through change brought about by the brain’s regulation of the body’s response
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP4 - Biopsychosocial framework and stress - iv allostasis.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * strategies for coping with stress including biofeedback, meditation/relaxation, physical exercise,
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP4 - Biopsychosocial framework and stress - v strategies for coping with stress.mp3" width="240" height="20"

> example of an anxiety disorder: **an overview** media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP5 - Biopsychosocial framework and simple phobia - a summary overview.mp3" >> amino butyric acid (GABA) in the management of phobic anxiety >> of psychotherapies in treatment including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), systematic >> desensitisation and flooding >> dog; parental modelling and transmission of threat information >> to an understanding of the disorder and its management
 * application of a biopsychosocial framework to understanding and managing simple phobia as an
 * biological contributing factors: role of the stress response; role of the neurotransmitter gamma-
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP5 - Biopsychosocial framework and simple phobia - i biological contributing factors.mp3"
 * psychological contributing factors: psychodynamic, behavioural and cognitive models; the use
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP5 - Biopsychosocial framework and simple phobia - ii psychological contributing factors part 2 (treatments).mp3"
 * socio-cultural contributing factors: specific environmental triggers such as being bitten by a
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP5 - Biopsychosocial framework and simple phobia - iii socio-cultural contributing factors.mp3"
 * the interaction between biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors which contribute
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP5 - Biopsychosocial framework and simple phobia - iv contributions of biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors to understanding anEdwina Ricci's Album.mp3"

>> depression; roles of the neurotransmitters serotonin and noradrenaline in major depression; the >> function of antidepressant medication in management >> management including cognitive behaviour therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy >> factors; support factors including family and social networks and recovery groups >> to an understanding of the disorder and its management
 * application of a biopsychosocial framework to understanding ONE of the following types of mental disorder and its management: **Mood disorder: major depression**
 * biological contributing factors: role of genes in contributing to the risk of developing major
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP6 - biopsychosocial framework and depression - i biological contributing factors.mp3"
 * psychological contributing factors: learned helplessness; stress; the use of psychotherapies in
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP6 - biopsychosocial framework and depression - ii psychological factors.mp3"
 * socio-cultural contributing factors: abuse, poverty, social isolation and social stressors as risk
 * the interaction between biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors which contribute
 * media type="file" key="MENTAL HEALTH - DP6 - biopsychosocial framework and depression - iii and iv socio-cultural factors and the biopsychosocial framework.mp3"