What happened today?

• Video excerpt “The Secret Life of the Brain: Adolescence” on Schizophrenia.
• Reading in Teams under Files –> Class Materials –> Psychological Disorders “Psychosis.”
• Video “I am Not a Monster” below.
• Stigma around mental health.  Discuss the negative stigmatization and what we know the truth to be around the incredible humans who take care of their mental health. <3

TW: SUICIDE.  If you feel at risk of suicide, or anyone you know seems at risk of suicide, help is available 24/7/365 for phone calls at 1-833-456-4566 or the new Canada-wide number 988 for calls and texts. You can also speak to your school counsellor.

Assignment completed in class only.  Information provided about end-of-semester and related to Final.

What happened today?

• Reading “The Mental Health Benefits of Walking.”  Files –> Class Materials –> Mental Health Conditions –> Treatments and Therapies.
• Medications some doctors prescribe and a breakdown of types of psychotherapies (same folder as above).
• Anxiety and Anxiety-Related Disorders Case Studies.  Apply and share out as a class. In-class assignment only.  Cannot be made up outside of class.

Links to  more information about types of Psychotherapy (remember: many practitioners will engage in multiple to be suit the needs of the person they help):

• Very Well Mind Psychotherapy Techniques
• Other types may include (with licensed mental healthcare practitioner): somatic therapy, play therapy, expressive therapies (dance, music, art, culinary, psychodrama), exposure therapy, EMDR, hypnotherapy, nature therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

We will be discussing Depression, Mood Disorders, and Suicide on Monday in class.  Please do what you need to prepare yourselves and speak to your teacher or counsellor if you need support.

If you feel at risk of suicide, or anyone you know seems at risk of suicide, help is available 24/7/365 for phone calls or texts 24/7/365 at 988. You can also speak to your school counsellor.

What happened today?

• • PTSD vs C-PTSD.
  • Not a disorder – a psychological injury.  Broken bone example.
  • Challenges: emotional flashbacks.
  • Readings (in this order):
    • PTSD: Historical Background, and What We Know Now (Morton, 2021).
    • Women and PTSD (Shors, 2021).
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
    • Bilateral Stimulation.
    • Reading: “Excerpt from BKTS – EMDR: Letting Go of the Past” (Psychological Disorders Folder or hard copies in handout folder).
    • Video (below).
    • Image in Mental Illnesses folder: EMDR Hand Buzzers.
  • Be ready to discuss EMDR in person tomorrow!!!
  • App (ask family/mental health professional): Anxiety Release Based on EMDR ($6).  Not sponsored.  Click here for more info

HOMEWORK:

• Required Reading: Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders pp. 575-582.  EMDR Reading “Letting Go of the Past.”
• Optional Reading: Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (e.g. Hoarding Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder) pp. 582-584.

Notes due at the start of class, or to Teams.  You can submit them here, or on paper – if paper, please also upload the image here too.

What happened today?

• Assessment for Social Psychology.  In-class only.
• New unit (the last one until your final project) is Psychological Disorders.  Discussed issue with the name.  What could we use instead?
• Vocabulary (Found in Thinking About Psychology Module 29 pp. 561-562):
  • Maladaptive Behaviour.
  • Unjustifiable Behaviour.
  • Disturbing Behaviour.
  • Atypical Behaviour.
• The DSM-V.
• Comorbidity.
• Gender (binary) and Mental Health Conditions.
• Folder in Teams under Files –> Class Materials –> Mental Health Conditions.
• Read and annotate in preparation for Monday.

Required Reading (we did not get to this in class today and will start this tomorrow):

• Psychological Disorders Reading (Teams in above folder).
  • p. 567 (and a tiny but onto p. 568) JUST “The American Psychiatric Associations APA Definition.”
  • Then pp. 568-571 starting at “Diagnosing and Classifying Psychological Disorders.”  Please also read the excerpt in the sort of “rectangle” entitled “Comorbidity.”
  • Please note: This is a very science-heavy reading.  It is not as psychologist style informed in its approach and you can absolutely disagree with ways it phrases and describes issues.  Again, it is more of a science/nature and pharmacological approach.

What happened 22-23 May 2025?

• Deindividuation Activity.
  • Prosocial Behaviour.
  • Anti-Social Behaviour.
  • Non-Normative Behaviour.
• The Milgram Experiments.
• Some vocabulary for which you should have definitions in your own words, as it will be integral to your final project.  Found in Thinking About Psychology Module 34 pp. 662-672.
  • Conformity.
  • Obedience.
  • Milgram Experiment.
  • Social Facilitation.
  • Social Loafing.
  • Deindividuation.
  • Group Polarization.
  • Groupthink.
  • Self-Fulfilling Prophecies.
  • Minority Influence.
  • The Stanford Prison Experiment (write this down, but you can wait until the video tomorrow to add this to your notes).
• Started video called “The Psychology of Evil” by the famous Dr. Philip Zimbardo, the man behind the Stanford Prison Experiment (Ms. Hopkin has a photo in the basement of Stanford’s Jordan Hall in the actual spot it happened!).  Fascinating area that is so applicable today, but certainly to your final assignment.
  • Copy of video in Teams in “Social Psychology” folder.
  • Transcript available in Teams “Social Psychology” folder.
• Please finish the last two minutes of the video as you will be tested on it on Monday!

What happened today?

• Story activity to demonstrate vocabulary below and our new area of research.  This is your teacher’s specialty!
• Things to keep around the story:
  • How social psychological elements impact our cognitive biases.
  • E.g. “Victim-Blaming.”
• Introduced overview to Social Psychology.
• Vocabulary (ensure you are able to explain all of these in your own words with an example – might be helpful for some to compare to the story activity):
  • Attribution Theory.
    • Dispositional Attribution.
    • Situational Attribution.
  • Fundamental Attribution Error.

Readings:

• Social Cognition Reading in Teams or hard copy.
  • Okay, about this one: For some reason on my Mac it looked fine, then when I printed from my PC it added a little square on the paper versions that says “LSEP,” which means “line separation” EVERY TIME THERE WAS A SPACE.  And it deeply bothers me and I recognize I cannot change it (it is not on digital copies), but please observe I know and it has bothered me greatly.
• Thinking About Psychology Module 34 pp. 653-661 (only to the short three lines at the top of p. 661, do not read past that).
  • Also for this one, only read the first paragraph on Role Playing (p. 658), then skip to p. 659 “Cognitive Dissonance.”
• There is overlap in both readings so feel free to skim and pick what is most helpful and effective for you.

Please feel free to make note of any questions you have and we can always go over them when I am back!  Just ensure you have a good idea of the vocabulary above (and feel free to include the story if it helps in your notes).

Notes due  by the end of class. 

What happened today?

• “A Love Letter to Children Who Have Had to Cut Ties With Their Mothers.”  Connecting this reading to topics we have discussed the past week.
• Reading “The Inner Child” found in Teams under Files –> Class Materials –> Interregnum.
• Assignment: Using materials provided, write a letter to your inner child (based on the reading and using the image you brought).  Due at the end of class.  You should be creative and embellish it with items based on the reading e.g. sparkles, colours, drawings, stickers.  Make sure you speak to someone in the class to get an idea about this!

What happened today?

• Short lesson on Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn, Flop.
• Two readings in Teams under Files –> Class Materials –> Interregnum.  Extra hard copies in handout folder.
  • Fight, Flight, Fawn, Freeze and What They Mean.
  • Fawning: The Fourth Trauma Response After Fight, Flight, Freeze
• Assignment Part 1: Write a short reflection (using “I” statements) on a time you used the Fawn response.  Remember all of these responses are normal and everyone does them!
  • Remember: Reflections are not just repeating learning/reading back.  Use it as a stepping stool (or trampoline) to bounce off of into new ideas you explore/question.
• Assignment Part 2: Discussion on topic in reflection and why you think Fawning is the least acknowledged, hard to notice in people (e.g. versus someone throwing a chair), and least researched.
• Assignment Part 3: Add to your reflection anything that stood out to you in the discussion.  Remember: the expectation is the reflection is short given the time you had.
• Due to Teams by the end of class.
• If you were absent, the grade for the discussion portion will be omitted.  You will still need to do the reflection.  Please remember it is SHORT. Expectation is max half a page!

HOMEWORK: Bring a photo of yourself as a small child (no older than 5, maybe closer to the 0-3 range).  It should be a photo that you connect with, you like, or speaks to you in some way.  You do not have to know why.  Hard copy is best, but a photo on your phone works in a pinch – you just need to be able to have it in front of you and see it to do the assignment. You can also bring any art supplies (childish ones or current ones) for tomorrow. 🙂

What happened today?

• First hand accounts of panic attack and anxiety attack.
• Readings in Interregnum folder: “Anxiety Attack vs. Panic Attack” and “Trigger: What This Really Means.”
• What resources do we have should something like this happen?
• Assignment – With a group, consider:
  • How to help people understand words/phrases like trigger, panic, and anxiety attacks.
  • How you can recognize feelings of anxiety, being triggered, etc. in your body.
  • What can you do if you see someone having one of the above?  Be specific, give details, and be real.
• Will be shared out and discussed as a class.  Likely will continue with this on Thursday.