About the lecture

In this lecture, we explore the history of views on mental health, focusing in particular on: (i) contextualising these into three key models – the supernatural, the medical/biological, and the psychological; (ii) the supernatural model, outlining its historical association with spirits and demons, as well as violent treatments; (iii) the medical model, starting with its use of asylums to house those deemed mental ill, or simply socially deviant; (iv) two important milestones in the progress of the medical model during the 20th century: the use of electroconvulsive therapies and the development of antipsychotic, antianxiety and antidepressant medications; (v) three key psychological models: Freud’s psychoanalytical perspective, Rogers’ humanistic model and Beck’s cognitive behavioural model.

About the lecturer

Dr Jude Stevenson is a lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Glasgow, with a primary focus on mental health and well-being. Dr Stevenson’s research centres around body focused repetitive behaviours and is a UK ambassador for the TLC Foundation for Body Focused Repetitive Behaviours. Some of Dr Stevenson’s recent publications include 'Social media peer support groups for obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: understanding the predictors of negative experiences' (2021) and 'Pathogen disgust predicts stigmatization of individuals with mental health conditions' (2020).