MODULE SPECIFICATION TEMPLATE

MODULE DETAILS

Module title / Ethics, Values and Equalities in Mental Health
Module code / SS7128
Credit value / 20
Level
Mark the box to the right of the appropriate level with an ‘X’ / Level 4 / Level 5 / Level 6 / Level 7 / X / Level 8
Level 0 (for modules at foundation level)
Entry criteria for registration on this module
Pre-requisites
Specify in terms of module codes or equivalent / GPHSS Requirements
Co-requisite modules
Specify in terms of module codes or equivalent / N/A
Module delivery
Mode of delivery / Taught / X / Distance / Placement / Online
Other
Pattern of delivery / Weekly / Block / X / Other
When module is delivered / Semester 1 / X / Semester 2 / Throughout year
Other
Brief description of module content and/ or aims
Overview (max 80 words) / The module gives students an in-depth exploration of issues in relation to ethics, values and equalities in the field of mental health. The overarching aim is to enable students to reflect critically upon the contested nature of mental health and the debates in relation to ethics and values that this engenders. An exploration of service users experiences of stigma, discrimination and inequality will be central to the module, as well as a critical perspective on power. Students will also examine the development of users and carers as consumers and researchers of mental health interventions, and what this means for social inclusion.
Module team/ author/ coordinator(s) / David Watson, Emma Inch, Martine Danby, Julia Stroud
School / SASS
Site/ campus where delivered / Falmer
Course(s) for which module is appropriate and status on that course
Course / Status (mandatory/ compulsory/ optional)
Post Graduate Diploma Approved Mental Health Practice / Mandatory

MODULE AIMS, ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT

Aims / The aims of this module are:
§  To critically explore the key debates in relation to ethics, values and equality as applied to the contested field of mental health, mental illness and mental disorder
§  To explore and critically analyse the experiences of mental health service users and carers, particularly in relation to discrimination, diversity and difference, and the implications of this for social inclusion
§  To critically explore the relationship between mental health professionals and service users / carers, especially the developments in relation to the social perspective, personalisation and service user-led research
For PG Dip AMHP students, learning on this module will subsequently be applied to AMHP practice
Learning outcomes / At the end of this module, successful students will demonstrate:
1.  In-depth knowledge and critical analysis of ethical principles and values in relation to mental health, mental illness and mental disorder
2.  Systematic, detailed understanding and critical analysis of the complexities of discrimination (past and present) experienced by users of services; the implications of this and the importance of values, equality and ethics for the promotion of social inclusion
3.  Detailed and critical evaluation of issues of power and authority in relation to professionalism and service delivery in mental health
4.  Thorough understanding of developments in relation to social perspectives in mental health, personalisation and service user research and systematic analysis of the implications for service users and carers
The module learning outcomes address the following requirements of the Approval criteria for approved mental health professional (AMHP) programmes – Section 2 (HCPC, 2013):
§  1. Knowledge (1.5, 1.6)
₋  1.5 Understand the social perspective on mental disorders and mental health needs in working with service users, their relatives, carers and other professionals, and be able to apply this in practice
₋  1.6 Understand the implications of mental disorders for service users, their relatives, carers and other professionals, and be able to apply this in practice
§  3. Informed decision-making (3.2)
₋  3.2 Be able to draw on, and evaluate critically, a range of research relevant to evidence based AMHP practice
§  4. Equality and diversity (4.1, 4.2)
₋  4.1 Be able to demonstrate sensitivity to factors such as race, gender, age, sexuality, disability, culture, religion and belief in AMHP practice
₋  4.2 Be able to identify, challenge and redress discrimination and inequality in AMHP practice
Content / 1.  Ethics and values in mental health – an examination of contemporary debates within mental health, placing them in the context of the contested nature of mental health, and exploring the connections between ethics and values and the services or interventions offered.
2.  Difference in Mental Health – The concept of stigma, and an exploration of how past attitudes and service delivery continues to influence stereotypical assumptions about mental disorder. The interaction of issues relating to gender, race, culture, sexuality, poverty, class, disability, age, religion and belief in relation to assumptions about mental ill health, its diagnosis and services offered. The relationship with issues of social inclusion, human rights, diversity and equality of opportunity. Research findings in these areas. International perspectives on mental health and the services offered.
3.  Violence and Risk – the ethical context for debates regarding risk and violence being associated with mental ill health. Research on mental disorder and risk including analysis of Home Office statistics in this area. Stereotypes of ‘dangerousness’ and unpredictability: Moral panics and media representations
4.  Power in Mental Health - The professionalism of mental health, and the power of diagnosis: ethical issues related to the use of law to compel treatment and assessment
5.  The historical development of service users and carers as consumers and researchers of the experience of mental health and interventions offered. Developments in relation to social perspectives on mental distress, and recovery, such as peer support, and their ethical implications for services and professionals.
Learning support / Learning materials
Barker, P. 2011. Mental health ethics: the human context Abingdon: Routledge
Bassett, T. & T. Stickley (Eds) 2010. Voices of Experience – Narratives of Mental Health Survivors Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell
Bassett, H., C. Lloyd & S. Tse 2008. Approaching in the right spirit: Spirituality and hope in recovery from mental health problems International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation 15(6): 254 – 259
Bassman, R. 2001. Whose Reality is it Anyway? Consumers / Survivors / Ex-Patients Can Speak for Themselves Journal of Humanistic Psychology 41 (4): 11 – 35
Bettesworth, C. et al 2003. User involvement: substance or spin? Journal of Mental Health. 12 (6): 613 – 626
Bracken, P. & P. Thomas 2005. Postpsychiatry – mental health in a postmodern world Oxford: OUP
Fluet, C., D. Holmes & A. Perron 2005. Agents of care and agents of the state: bio-power and nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 50 (5): 536 – 544
Masterson, S. & S. Owen 2006. Mental Health Service User’s Social and Individual Empowerment: Using Theories of Power to Elucidate Far-Reaching Strategies Journal of Mental Health 15 (1): 19 – 34
Pilgrim, D. 2005. Defining mental disorder: Tautology in the service of sanity in British mental health legislation Journal of Mental Health 14 (5): 435 – 443
Pilgrim, D. & A. Rogers 2005. Psychiatrists as Social Engineers: A Study of an Anti-Stigma Campaign. Social Science and Medicine. 61 (12): 2546 – 2556
Pilgrim, D. 2008 ‘Recovery’ and current mental health policy Chronic Illness 4: 295 – 304
Read, J. 2009 Psychiatric Drugs – Key issues and Service User Perspectives Basingstoke: Palgrave / MIND
Reynolds, J., R. Muston, T. Heller, J. Leach, M. McCormick, J. Wallcraft and M. Walsh (Ed) 2009 Mental Health Still Matters Basingstoke: Palgrave
Rogers, A. & D. Pilgrim 2010 A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness (4th Ed) Maidenhead: Open University Press
Ussher, J. 2011. The Madness of Women – Myth and Experience London: Routledge
Vassilev, I. and D. Pilgrim 2007. ‘Risk, trust and the myth of mental health services’ Journal of Mental Health 16(3): 347 – 357
Teaching and learning activities
Details of teaching and learning activities / The content will be delivered through presentations and structured discussion and exercises, provided by academic staff and experts by experience, as well as practitioners as appropriate. Use will be made of participants' practice and personal experience where possible.
Allocation of study hours (indicative)
Where 10 credits = 100 learning hours / Study hours
SCHEDULED / This is an indication of the number of hours students can expect to spend in scheduled teaching activities including lectures, seminars, tutorials, project supervision, demonstrations, practical classes and workshops, supervised time in workshops/ studios, fieldwork, external visits, and work-based learning.
Lectures and seminars / 35 hours
GUIDED INDEPENDENT STUDY / All students are expected to undertake guided independent study which includes wider reading/ practice, follow-up work, the completion of assessment tasks, and revisions.
Directed study
Private Study
Assessment Preparation / 20 hours
105 hours
40 hours
PLACEMENT / The placement is a specific type of learning away from the University that is not work-based learning or a year abroad.
TOTAL STUDY HOURS / 200
Assessment tasks
Details of assessment for this module / Poster Presentation: Followed by 20 minute question and answer session
Poster presentations will take place in small groups
The student’s poster must offer a visual presentation of their capacity to use reflection and critical analysis, in relation to a concept relating to ethics, values and equality in contemporary mental health. The focus of the poster will be discussed and agreed with the module coordinator at the end of the module. The student will explicate how a critical understanding of the experiences and perspectives of service users and/or carers informs their analysis of the concept. The student will also critically evaluate the role of professionals, and the implications for professionals of social perspectives, personalisation and service user research, in relation to the concept.
The assessment method offers the opportunity to assess skills other than the written. These are the same presentation, verbal, reasoning and discussion skills, together with analytic evaluative and reflective skills which students will need to demonstrate in autonomous practice, especially in formal settings (e.g. in funding panels; case conferences; review meetings; tribunals; court, etc). The task also requires the student to identify the core and essential elements of their argument. Again, these are conceptual and analytic skills that are essential in formal settings.
The student will be given 5 minutes to identify and introduce the main themes relating to the concept they have examined. Two assessors will then use this introduction and the poster itself as a basis for identifying questions to ask the student in order to fully explore that the learning outcomes have been met.
Types of assessment task[1]
Indicative list of summative assessment tasks which lead to the award of credit or which are required for progression. / % weighting
(or indicate if component is pass/fail)
WRITTEN / Written exam
COURSEWORK / Written assignment/ essay, report, dissertation, portfolio, project output, set exercise
PRACTICAL / Oral assessment and presentation, practical skills assessment, set exercise
Poster presentation / 100

EXAMINATION INFORMATION

Area examination board / AMHP / CPD Combined AEB/CEB
Refer to Faculty Office for guidance in completing the following sections
External examiners
Name / Position and institution / Date appointed / Date tenure ends

QUALITY ASSURANCE

Date of first approval
Only complete where this is not the first version / November 2013
Date of last revision
Only complete where this is not the first version / N/A
Date of approval for this version / N/A
Version number / 1
Modules replaced
Specify codes of modules for which this is a replacement
Available as free-standing module? / Yes / X / No

Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012

[1] Set exercises, which assess the application of knowledge or analytical, problem-solving or evaluative skills, are included under the type of assessment most appropriate to the particular task.