Week 1: Common mental health challenges and signals displayed by adult learners
Introduction
This week you will explore some of the definitions of mental health and associated terminology as well as the concepts of ‘poor’ or ‘optimal’ mental health and wellbeing. You will be introduced to common mental health problems and their possible impact on learning and will learn about the types of language, behaviour and emotions that may be displayed by learners who are struggling with their mental health. You will also be given an overview of some strategies that can be used to support learners’ mental health and your own wellbeing.
By the end of this week, you should be able to:
- appreciate the difference between mental health, mental conditions and wellbeing
- identify common mental health problems and their impact on learning
- recognise the language, behaviour and emotions that may be displayed by learners struggling with their mental health
- employ some strategies to support learners’ mental health and your own wellbeing.
Before you start the course, make sure you have read the Introduction and guidance [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] which contains important information about possible content triggers as well as the language and terminology used. It also gives advice on navigating through and completing the course.
The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey. Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.