Lecture 1: Conceptualising Religion & Culture

January 4, 2015January 6, 2015 selvam Religion Culture and Mental Health

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:

define the two constructs of the title of this course – with their nuances: religion/spirituality and culture;
discuss cursorily the relationship between religion and psychology.

DOWNLOAD MY NOTES:
Lecture 1 – Definitions of Religion and Culture
READINGS:
Loewenthal, K. M., & Lewis, C. A. (2011). Mental health, religion and culture. Psychologist, 24(4), 256-259. (This is compulsory reading for this course).
Selvam, S.G. (2013). Towards religious spirituality: A multidimensional matrix of religion and spirituality. Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 12(36), 129-152.
VIDEOS:
Crash Course – Psychological Disorders

Lecture 2: An Integrative worldview on Mental Health

January 4, 2015January 4, 2015 selvam Religion Culture and Mental Health

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:

distinguish the worldviews of traditional societies and religion & the modern science;
describe the characteristics of mental health;
specify the scope of the present course.

DOWNLOAD MY LECTURE NOTES: Lecture 2 – Cultural & Religious Perspectives

Lecture 3: Mental Disorders and Religious practices

January 4, 2015January 5, 2015 selvam Religion Culture and Mental Health

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:

Discuss the issues involved in the interaction between religion and some specific issues: depression, suicide, OCD and ASD.

DOWNLOAD MY LECTURE NOTES: 3 Mental Disorders & Religion
WATCH SOME VIDEOS:

Crash Course on OCD
The anatomy of melancholy

Lecture 4: Religion, Culture, & Mental Health in the African Context

January 4, 2015January 5, 2015 selvam Religion Culture and Mental Health

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:

evaluate some of the cultural and religious practices in Africa with some sound principles, in an attempt to assess the mental wellbeing of those involved.

DOWNLOAD MY LECTURE NOTES:

4 African Context

Lecture 5: Some Pathological Religious & Cultural Phenomena

January 4, 2015January 6, 2015 selvam Religion Culture and Mental Health

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:

develop a scientific approach to some sampled religious and cultural phenomena;
describe and deal with shame and guilt, and culture shock in the therapeutic context;
identify the psychological processes involved in cults: radicalisation and brainwashing;
respond adequately to former members of satanic cults.

DOWNLOAD LECTURE NOTES: 5 Pathological religious and cultural phenomena
READ: Adolescents in Satanism