1 - 10 of 36 results for: PSYC

What is a secret and why do we keep them? What is the cost - and the burden - of secret-keeping? The focus of this seminar will be professional secrecy, as we explore corporate confidentiality and the secret-keeping expected of all of us as professionals, and those who are engaged in issues of national security. Secrecy will be discussed in both ethical and practical frameworks. Students will begin to develop a personal ethic related to secrecy and will grapple with the intersection of secrets, lies and obfuscation.

Examines the biological, psychological and social aspects of what it means to live a positive, life-affirming existence. Drawing from a wide range of sources, from psychiatry and psychology, to spirituality and philosophy, seminar informs on the latest thinking about the psychology of happiness, and questions assumptions about personal happiness. Explores the new field of positive psychology and pulls from a multidisciplinary literature, examining life satisfaction and happiness from many perspectives, and the psychiatry of stimulation including substance, human sexuality, and healthy methods of attaining happiness. Includes guest speakers from many different backgrounds and perspectives. Examines what it means to be truly mindful.

Developmental, psychological, social, and performance issues in collegiate sports. Topics include transition to Stanford, time management, optimizing mental fitness, coping with injuries.

One of the great gifts of literature is its ability to give us insight into the internal worlds of others. This is particularly true of that state clinicians call "psychosis." But psychosis is a complex concept. It can be terrifying and devastating for patients and families, and yet shares characteristics with other, less pathological states, such as mysticism and creativity. How then can we begin to make sense of it? In this course, we will examine the first-hand experience of psychosis. We will approach it from multiple perspectives, including clinical descriptions, works of art, and texts by writers ranging from Shakespeare, to the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, to patients attempting to describe their experience. This class is not only for students thinking of careers in medicine, psychology or anthropology, but also readers and writers interested exploring extraordinary texts. There are no prerequisites necessary; all that is needed is a love of language and a curiosity about the secrets of other minds.

The course is a basic review of how we define depression, and a description of a new 'systems model' to understand the neurobiology of depression. We will consider the model in the context of the illness and why brain stimulation treatments work. nDetailsnThe class will be organized as a working group. Initially I will dead by discussing depression as a clinical entity as well as common treatment approaches. I will then discuss a framework to understand the systems model, how we can do research in the scientific literature, and from that create a more detailed map of the neurobiological basis of depression. nAs the quarter progresses, the emphasis will be on the students: to ask questions relevant to the illness and neurogiology; to do in class searches of the Pubmed database, integrate what we have found into the general systems model, and discuss how the literature confirms, informs, or contradicts our basic model. nStudents will work in small groups to develop slides that summarize their findings from the literature. As we develop a context to understand the neurogiology of depression, we will consider how brain stimulation can be an effective treatment.

What is the current U.S. socio-political climate like for Muslims? How is it affecting their mental health? Executive Order 13769, dubbed the "Muslim Ban", suspended the entry of citizens from multiple Muslim-majority countries and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely. The "Muslim Ban" coincided with the highest level of hate crimes against Muslims in America (91% increase in 2017 per CAIR). These levels are comparable to post-9/11 levels of hate crimes. Decades of research on minority communities has documented how stress associated with stigma, intimidation and discrimination is detrimental to physical and mental health. In this seminar we will explore the historical implications of Islamophobia and its modern-day impact on the global refugee crisis. Students will be introduced to the stigma that surrounds mental health in general and minority communities in particular. Special attention will be paid to the development of the nascent field Islamic Psychology and integrating Islamic spirituality into therapy as a means of addressing the under utilization of mental health services in Muslim populations. A combination of stimulating group discussions, talks by guest speakers, and field trips to community partners will provide students with different perspectives and a deeper understanding of these topics. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center)

In this seminar we want to take a look at women¿s lives beginning in the past century to the present and the many changes which occurred in conceptualizing and understanding mental illness. The female reproductive system has been linked to mental illness in women for centuries. The womb was believed to be the source of anxiety and depression, leading women to become `hysterical¿. But what does `hysteria¿ really mean, and how have historical and cultural attitudes towards women framed the study of women's mental health? How have the expectations of and demands on women and their role in society changed from the 19th to the 20th century? How have advances in health care and changing economic conditions influenced women¿s health? The course will introduce students to historical and current concepts of mental illness in women. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMS), eating disorders, the hysterias and functional neurologic disorders and infertility and postpartum depression will be analyzed through a historical bio-psycho-social lens. Historical reading will include primary sources, such as women¿s diaries and physicians¿ casebooks and medical case records, as well as secondary sources such as advice books, and 19th- and 20th-century medical texts. Guest speakers from the art history and literature departments will stimulate dialogue regarding literary and artistic images and the social and cultural contexts of these disorders. Importantly, we will examine the changing face of "mental illness in women" in art, literature and medicine--the evolution of diversity in represented voices and the current methods of researching and treating the interface between the female reproductive cycle and psychiatric illness in diverse populations of women. Embedded within each lecture will be break-out sessions with opportunities for students to ask questions and to discuss a topic in greater depth. Students will have the opportunity to complete their own interdisciplinary projects for the course. Prior projects have included not only power point presentations of diverse topics, but also short films and stories, and future women's mental health research project proposals.

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's remarkable ability to modify its own structure and function. The brain does so in response to changes in the body or in the external environment, adjusting parameters from molecules to neurons. In this course, we will cover the overarching principles of brain plasticity: how the brain comes to mirror the details of the outside world, how it adjusts itself based on sensory deficits, how new sensory capacities can be added, how circuitry is modified by activities and goals, why it's harder to teach an old dog new tricks, how we remember, and disorders of plasticity.

Dr. William Dement created Sleep and Dreams in 1971, the world's first university course devoted to the science of sleep. Upon his retirement he selected Dr. Rafael Pelayo to be his successor, but he continued to participate in class until his passing in the summer of 2020. To honor his legacy in perpetuity, Dr.Pelayo renamed the course 'Dement's Sleep Dreams' as he had promised him he would. The goal is to retain the original spirit of the course as the content is continuously updated to reflect current state of sleep science. The course is designed to impart essential knowledge of the neuroscience of sleep and covers how sleep affects our daily lives. The course covers normal sleep and dreams, as well as common sleep disorders. Course content empowers students to make educated decisions concerning sleep and alertness for the rest of their lives and shapes students' attitudes about the importance of sleep. Students will keep track of their sleep patterns during the course. They will also participate in an outreach project to help improve awareness of the importance of sleep heath in our community. Undergraduates must enroll in PSYC 135, while graduate students should enroll in PSYC 235.