UNIT+4+MENTAL+HEALTH+-+Dot+point+worksheets


 * AOS 2 - MENTAL HEALTH**

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


 * AREA OF STUDY 2**


 * Mental Health Worksheets**

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
 * 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
 * use of a biopsychosocial framework (the interaction and integration of biological, psychological and social factors) as an approach to considering physical and mental health
 * application of a biopsychosocial framework to understanding the relationship between stress and physical and mental wellbeing: **an overview**
 * physiological and psychological characteristics of responses to stress including fight-flight
 * psychological determinants of the stress response; strengths and limitations of Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping
 * social, cultural and environmental factors that exacerbate and alleviate the stress response
 * allostasis (stability through change brought about by the brain’s regulation of the body’s response
 * strategies for coping with stress including biofeedback, meditation/relaxation, physical exercise,

> example of an anxiety disorder: **an overview** >> 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-
 * psychological contributing factors: psychodynamic, behavioural and cognitive models; the use
 * socio-cultural contributing factors: specific environmental triggers such as being bitten by a
 * the interaction between biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors which contribute

>> 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
 * depression; roles of the neurotransmitters serotonin and noradrenaline in major depression; the
 * psychological contributing factors: learned helplessness; stress; the use of psychotherapies in
 * socio-cultural contributing factors: abuse, poverty, social isolation and social stressors as risk
 * the interaction between biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors which contribute