Shaker Help Request

by Shaker MzBitca

Hey, everyone.

I am teaching a class referred to as "abnormal psychology". I hate the term and have already discussed why with my class but I want to make sure that my class is as progressive as possible and includes the voices of those who are dealing with the symptoms of mental illness. I am working on eliminating harmful language from class discussions such as "psycho" and "crazy" and I have read pieces from those that talk about their PTSD symptoms or other such things. I also generated a discussion about the recent clusterfuck that was the Salon article. I want to make sure that the reality of mental health treatment is discussed in this class and I have a decent enough concept of how frustrating it is from my end of being a provider and trying to get people services but would love input on how it can be on the other side. I also am looking for feedback and suggestions from others, either blogs or on-line communities or even just helpful feedback about how to best present the information.

I have already stressed to my students that we are talking about real individuals and that they need to be cognizant that we are discussing situations that their fellow peers or family members deal with on a daily basis and so these discussions are not purely academic but very personal to a large number of people. I have also encouraged them to come to me privately about any concerns they have or any topics that may be triggering to them. I want to do the best to make my classroom both a safe and educational space.

Any help from my fellow shakers would be greatly appreciated.