Psychology

The contents of the class are arranged around the following topics: the concepts of health and illness, why do we care about health; the social determinants of health, why is health social, beyond mind and body, construing in inter-action; a systemic-constructivist model of health and illness; and caregiving experience. Depending on the nature of discussions and research articles, the class content may be adapted to promote students’ interests and engagement, and develop their research and evidence based readings. The course requires a foundation level of psychological literacy developed throughout the first to second year of undergraduate study in psychology as a prerequisite.

This course examines the major psychotherapies that have been developed including Psychodynamic Therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Person-Centred Therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Positive Psychology and mindfulness. Issues related to conducting ethical, culturally sensitive and productive therapy with clients are also discussed.

Case studies of patients with brain damage remain a critical part of cognitive neuropsychology's methods for understanding the organization of cognitive systems, and devising principled approaches to rehabilitation. In this topic, there is great scope for clinicians and researchers to inform and learn from one another with respect to the manifestation of clinical disorders, their potential causes, and paths to rehabilitation. While students are aware of famous patients with brain damage (e.g. Phineas Gage and patient H.M.), this course addresses lesser-known cases that have provided important insights into contemporary research problems across several domains including attention, memory, dysexecutive syndrome and disorders of meta-cognition, and social-cognitive processing.

The course provides a basis for understanding development in childhood and adolescence from a biopsychosocial perspective. The course focuses on interactions and associations between children’s genetic dispositions, neurocognitive, and psychological factors. Psychosocial development is understood as a complex interplay between the individual and the environment. Of particular interests is the focus on early adversity, family risks, and social relationship. The syllabus and lectures address topics such as contextualized and dynamic developmental models, gene x environment interactions, risk and resilience factors for emerging mental health problems, social influences on brain and psychological development, and development of risk-taking. A general theme through the course is on developmental mechanisms and transactional processes.