Modern Minds

Very excited to announce that Modern Minds™ is featured in the directory, used by schools across the U.K. to find mental health resources - many thanks to and the whole Beyond team!

Session 6: “Is there a Cure for Mental Illness?”

Students define ‘mental illness’. Students focus on one disorder-treatment combination, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety Disorders, with the caveat that its best to focus on one disorder-treatment combination and approach the topic with humility about how much can be understood about the complexities of a disorder/treatment in the session timeframe. Students consider CBT and the proposed interdependencies of our thoughts, emotions, behaviours and bodily sensations, within the context of a life situation. Students compare fear and anxiety. Students are introduced to Aaron Beck and consider his response to a CBT example case study. Students consider the usefulness and limitations to safety behaviours. Students differentiate between CBT Behavioural Experiments and Exposure (Habituation). Students consider an example CBT formulation. Students come up with their own conclusions to the title question.

Session 5: “Does a Smile a Day Keep Your Worries Away?”
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Students consider the phrase ‘A Smile a Day Keeps Your Worries Away’ and investigate whether there is any truth behind it. Students explore the facial feedback hypothesis, and conduct their own experiment wherein they have to rate their positive affect pre- and post-smile. Students discuss a famous partial replication of a classic facial feedback hypothesis study and criticise its methodology. Students are invited to consider the relevance of the psychology replicability crises. Students consider other experimental findings relevant to the title question. Students come up with their own conclusions to the title question.

Session 4: “Where in the World is Mental Health?”
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Students consider the epidemiology of mental health conditions, including why anxiety disorders are ‘more prevalent’ in more economically developed countries. Students focus on what an Anxiety Disorder is, and why its diagnostic criteria according to the DSM-V may not be suitable for every person in every country in which people live. Students scan a systematic review of Anxiety Disorders and commentate on potential cultural variability. Students come up with their own conclusions to the title question.

Session 3: “What is to Blame for Bad Mental Health?”
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Students consider why mental health rates are on the rise in the western world. They analyse and critique the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory. Students discuss the Diathesis-Stress Model and consider why it might explain why some people develop mental illnesses and others don’t. Students compare subjective stress responses via self-reported evaluations in response to ‘fears’ shown on video (i.e. YouTube videos of spiders and heights). Students consider the biopsychosocial model of health, and the complication of correlation vs causation. Students come up with their own conclusions to the title question.

Session 2: “Is Social Media Good for your Mental Health?”
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Students consider their social media feeds. Students read and discuss a paper re the relationship between social media usage and student life satisfaction. Students consider the validity of “Internet Addiction” as a mental health diagnosis and fill out the test questionnaire themselves, before sharing their academic criticisms of it. Students rank their personal order of social media apps on a scale from high to low mental wellbeing and compare it to an academic survey. Students consider how social media may be good for their mental health via academic papers discussing education, community and self-expression. Students come up with their own conclusions to the title question.

Session 1: “What is Perfect Mental Health?”
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This introduction to the course involves students “making a meme of an argument” - using laminated memes to respond to fundamental questions about what ‘perfect’ mental health might look like. Students discuss and read papers and summarise their findings via self-created memes. Students are introduced to the Mad Pride movement and discuss an academic commentary of it. Students come up with their own conclusions to the title question.

, a top-ranked English-speaking IB school in Barcelona

Sessions included:
- Can Social Media be Good for your Mental Health?
- Does a Smile a Day Keep your Worries Away?

Patricia Maragos BSc, BEd
Science Coordinator, St Peter's School, Barcelona
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'Joseph is passionate about the work he does, which is to develop an outreach program for adolescents about their mental health. The workshop was engaging and thought provoking. I would recommend his services wholeheartedly.'

St Paul's Girls' School, The Sunday Times UK Independent School of the Year 2022

Sessions included:

- What is Perfect Mental Health?
- Can Social Media be Good for your Mental Health?
- What is to Blame for Bad Mental Health?
- Where in the World is Mental Illness?
- Does a Smile a Day Keep your Worries Away?
- Is there a Cure for Mental Illness?

Sarah Fletcher MA (Oxon),
High Mistress at St Paul's Girls' School

'We loved working with Joseph on his Short Course in Psychology and Mental Health. His presentations were beautifully delivered and extremely well researched. The students appreciated opportunities to discuss how different aspects of mental health can be approached and they learned a great deal which will give them real insight and awareness over the years to come. I would have no hesitation in inviting him back. He is driven by a desire to engage sensitively with some of the key issues of our age and his level of knowledge, passion and care are never in doubt.'