330.874.11 SS/R: IDENTIFYING, DISCUSSING, AND DEBATING UNRESOLVED NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH POLICY ISSUES

Acquaints students with the actual national mental health policy issues currently confronting us and the key frameworks that are used to analyze them. Students choose and prioritize four of these issues for more detailed examination. Students then examine three of these issues in depth, including causes, effects, interactions with other issues, feasible solutions, likely solutions, and prognoses. Finally, students debate and propose feasible solutions for the fourth issue. In this debate, different sets of students take the role of government, the provider community, consumers, family members, and members of the community at large. The debate concludes when a solution is achieved. Students then reflect on the policy process itself.

Course will prepare the student to be able to do the following: • Identify the current major national mental health policy issues currently confronting the United States. • Construct an analysis of a mental health policy issue from causes to likely solutions and prognoses. • Describe key positions in a mental health policy debate, and strategies and tactics that can be used to move the issue toward a likely solution.