LONDON’S GLOBAL UNIVERSITY

UCL SUMMER SCHOOL

Mental Health and the Mind

Key Information

Module code ISSU0046

Taught during Session Two: Monday 25 July - Friday 12 August 2022
Mode of delivery Face-to-face on campus
Module workload 45 teaching hours plus approximately 100 study hours
Module leader Professor Angela Hassiotis
Department Division of Psychiatry
Credit 15 UCL credits, 7.5 ECTS, 4 US
Level Level 1, first year undergraduate
Pre-requisites Standard entry requirements
Assessment Blog (50%), Multiple choice quiz (50%)

Module Overview
Mental disorders, e.g. schizophrenia, dementia, depression, are common across all countries and constitute
about 14% of the global burden of disease. Many people with a mental disorder - and the majority of those
living in low income countries - still have no access to the treatments they need. This module will offer students
from a range of backgrounds such as social sciences, medicine, psychology, an understanding of basic principles
of how mental disorders present themselves, the impact on individuals and the possibilities for recovery and
treatment advances. It will address general aspects of the aetiology and treatment of mental disorders, the
setting within which such disorders are managed in the UK and globally and finally bring the students in touch
with people with lived experience of a mental disorder in order to elucidate aspects of stigma and health and
social inequalities. Most importantly, we hope that students will be inspired to further their interest in this field
and go on to develop a career in mental health.

Week One:
• Introduction to mental health
• Concepts of mental illness and care settings
• Service user contact/other visits
• Assessment preparation

Week Two:
• Discussion of main categories of mental disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, depression, dementia)
• Treatment options
• Current research
Please note that this module description is indicative and may be subject to change.
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 • Workshop and service user contact

Week Three:
• Stigma and inequalities
• Mental health and the law
• Workshop
• Assessment

Module Aims
The aim of the module is to help students appreciate the connections between mental health and wellbeing
and become more aware of the impact of mental disorders on the individual, his/her network and society.
Contact with people with mental disorders throughout the three weeks is essential in creating a context for the
issues facing the sufferers and of their hopes and aspirations. Discussions about treatments will ensure that
students attain a current view of the varieties of ways in which sufferers can be helped to maintain
independence and quality of life. Further, students may use this as a taster as to whether further career, either
clinical or research, would be appealing.

Teaching Methods
The teaching will be a combination of lectures, workshops and interactive seminars in order to consolidate
learning on the various topics to be addressed during the module. Students will also have access to online
materials, face to face contact with people with experience of a mental disorder (e.g. schizophrenia), and where
possible, visits that enhance their understanding of mental health care.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students will:
• Have gained an understanding of basic concepts about mental health
• Be able to list the main symptoms of several mental disorders
• Be aware of the treatment options available and of the philosophies of care
• Have learned how to communicate with a person with lived experience of mental illness
• Have gained skills in critical reflection as a way of improving service delivery and patient satisfaction

Key Texts
Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry: an introduction for medical students
Fonagy, P (2015) The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapies: an update. World
Psychiatry, 14: 37 – 150. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wps.20235/full
Sheehan R, Hassiotis A, Walters K et al (2015). Mental illness, challenging behaviour, and psychotropic drug
prescribing in people with intellectual disability: UK population based cohort study. BMJ, doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h4326
Lai M-C, Lombardo MV, Baron-Cohen S (2014). Autism. The Lancet, 383 (9920), 896–910
Drakesmith, M., Dutt, A., Fonville, L., Zammit, S., Reichenberg, A., Evans, C. J., . . . David, A. S. (2016). Mediation
of Developmental Risk Factors for Psychosis by White Matter Microstructure in Young Adults With Psychotic
Experiences. JAMA psychiatry, 73 (4), 396-406.
Livingston, G., Barber, J., Rapaport, P., Knapp, M., Griffen, M., King, D., . . . Cooper, C. (2013). Clinical
effectiveness of a manual based coping strategy programme (START, STrAtegies for RelaTives) in promoting the

Please note that this module description is indicative and may be subject to change.
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mental health of carers of family members with dementia: pragmatic randomised controlled trial. BMJ: doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f6276
Lloyd-Evans, B., Sweeney, A., Hinton, M., Morant, N., Pilling, S., Leibowitz, J., . . . Johnson, S. (2015). Evaluation
of a community awareness programme to reduce delays in referrals to early intervention services and enhance
early detection of psychosis. BMC psychiatry, 15, 98-?. doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0485-y
Buszewicz, M., Welch, C., Horsfall, L., Nazareth, I., Hunter, R., Osborn, D., . . . Courtenay, K. (2014). Assessment
of an incentivised scheme to provide annual health checks in primary care for adults with intellectual disability:
A longitudinal cohort study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1 (7), 522-530. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(14)00079-0
Marston, L., Nazareth, I., Petersen, I., Walters, K., & Osborn, D. P. (2014). Prescribing of antipsychotics in UK
primary care: a cohort study. BMJ Open, 4 (12), e006135-?. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006135
Killaspy, H. T., White, S., Wright, C., Taylor, T., Turton, P., Schützwohl, M., . . . King, M. (2012). Association
between service user experiences and staff rated quality of care in European facilities for people with longer
term mental health problems. PLoS One, 7 (6). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038070

Module Leader
Professor Angela Hassiotis is based at the UCL Division of Psychiatry, which is rated highly for research and
innovative health care in mental health. She has many years’ experience of teaching undergraduates both at
UCL and internationally. Her particular research interest is applied research in the field of intellectual and
developmental disabilities and has published extensively. Prof Hassiotis is also a consultant at the UK National
Health Service, where she assesses and manages people with mental disorders. She is delighted to be involved
in leading the mental health module which aims to bring together a stimulating account of the latest academic
and clinical advances in mental health to an audience of international undergraduates.

Please note that this module description is indicative and may be subject to change.
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