Day :
- Psychology | Mental Health | Child and Adolescent Psychiatry | Psychosomatic Disorders | Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing | Neurology | Neuroscience| Skull base surgery | Psychiatry | Human Brain Mapping | Neurosurgery And Spine
Location: Webinar
Session Introduction
Immaculate Nagujja
VFL Wolfsburg Uganda Supporters Foundation, Uganda
Title: A research abstract on mental health, psychiatry and wellbeing in Africa & developing countries
Biography:
Immaculate Nagujja is currently working in the organization as a Director at VFL Wolfsburg Uganda Supporters Foundation.
Abstract:
Mental health and well-being are usually perceived by individuals based on their cultural backgrounds in most Africa and developing countries. This perception also affects how individuals react to other diseases, symptoms, and treatment. These factors form a cognitive schema that influences how patients with mental health make attributions. Mental illness is considered a silent epidemic throughout most parts of Africa. This problem is linked to various factors which can be both structural and systemic barriers including inadequate healthcare infrastructure, the insufficient number of mental health specialists, financial constraints, and lack of access to all levels of care. Addressing the major issues related to mental health has been difficult due to a lack of resources, and ineffective mental health policies. Most of the African governments and health care sectors have neglected mental health and its associated problems and have focused on communicable diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. Stigma and discrimination have also led people with mental health challenges to shy away from seeking medical advice, hence making them unable to reach their maximum potential. This research aims to address the state of mental health, Psychology, and wellness in developing countries in Africa. It will also shed light on the challenges experienced that make it difficult to deal with mental health problems. The research comprises data and statistics from other works of research conducted in developing African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, etc. “Mental health is a state of mental well-being that allows people to cope with life's stresses, realize their abilities, learn and work effectively, and contribute to their community”. It is an essential component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, form relationships, and shape how we see the world. Researchers, medical professionals, policy-making bodies, and others have initiated measures to address the growing mental health crisis, not only in Africa but also globally. Most African countries have mental health policies mentioned in their general healthcare goals, but the implementation of these policies rarely happens. Research shows that almost half (44%) of developing African countries either don’t approve or update these mental health policies, leading to the development of mental illnesses. One of the biggest challenges facing the implementation of these policies is the fact that some of these policies are not practical, hence making them unable to be implemented in all levels of care, especially in rural areas. By 2020 for example, the Nigerian Mental Health Services Delivery Policy had yet to be effected into law, since the nation became independent in 1960. This in return has made Nigerians.
Ali Derakhshan
Golestan University, Iran
Title: Positioning loving pedagogy in heart of second/foreign language research and practice: Theorization and implementation
Biography:
Ali Derakhshan received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Allameh Tabataba’i University, Iran. He is currently Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at English Language and Literature Department, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran. He has published in both accredited international journals (e.g., Computers and Education, Applied Linguistics, Language Teaching Research, System, ELT Journal, Current Psychology, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Intercultural Pragmatics, Journal of Pragmatics, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, etc.) and various local journals. His research interests are Teacher Education, Learners' Individual Differences, Interlanguage Pragmatics, and Sociolinguistics.
Abstract:
Undoubtedly, teaching a second/foreign language is one of the most emotionally tense professions in the world given the simultaneous interplay of an array of linguistics, psychological, social, cultural, affective, and physiological factors. For a long time, cognitive and linguistics perspectives had ruled over L2 education, yet with the rise of a new trend in educational psychology dubbed as “Positive Psychology” (PP) the criticality and power of positive emotions in developing one’s performance, sense of wellbeing, and development have gained momentum. Given its emotional essence, L2 education has been fertile ground, in the past decade, for spreading the seeds of PP. The results of a growing body of research corroborate the impact of caring for and considering EFL/ESL teachers’ and students’ inner states and emotions on their academic performance and success rate. Out of numerous positive emotions proposed by PP, the concept of love has recently gained scholarly attention in language education research and practice. Love has long been and still is a sensitive term to be used in the educational arena due to its cultural and religious connotations. Its usage has been limited to romantic relationships and familial environments. Nevertheless, in the past couple of years, some pioneering studies have been carried out in EFL/ESL contexts to break the taboo in using the concept of love in education leading to a new concept known as “loving pedagogy” or “a pedagogy of love”. Based on its theorizations, love can go beyond romantic relationships and encompass professional care and empathy toward students’ feelings and needs in a safe way. To position this line of inquiry in the body of knowledge concerning the connection between emotions and L2 education, theoretical and conceptual studies have been done by Asian researchers to offer a working agenda for researching and practicing loving pedagogy in EFL/ESL classes. The results of several studies indicated that this heart-centered approach to L2 education can generate many positive academic outcomes such as improved motivation, autonomy, agency, well-being, engagement, achievement, self-esteem, critical thinking, academic success, positive interpersonal behaviors, creativity, and many more [1-6]. Despite promising insights obtained in this research domain, to date, most of the existing studies have taken either theoretical or correlational approaches to glean data and make contributions. However, empirical and qualitative studies on how to actually apply loving pedagogy in L2 classes are scant in the pertinent literature. To take one of the first steps in this regard, the present study aims to introduce a number of pedagogical practices that EFL/ESL teachers can use to inject loving pedagogy into their classes. Such practices are driven by PP and approaches that care for students’ emotions. Among them, the use of practices that develop EFL/ESL students’ interpersonal communication skills, multi-media literacy, positive classroom rapport, and strengths are more penetrating. Based on this study, it is contended that loving pedagogy is an applicable approach to L2 education provided that EFL/ESL teachers are trained and knowledgeable enough to implement it properly. The use of learner-oriented approaches and practices is the main precondition for applying a pedagogy of love in L2 class. Given these initiatives, the present study can be momentous for EFL/ESL teachers, trainers, students, program designers, language policy-makers, and researchers, who can develop their awareness of loving pedagogy and its numerous implications for research and practice.
Shanika Lavi Wilson
North Carolina Central University, USA
Title: Unconscious bias in clinical supervision
Biography:
Shanika Lavi Wilson received her bachelor's in psychology from the University of Connecticut-Storrs, a master's of science in social work (MSSW) with a concentration in mental health and substance abuse from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her doctor of social work (DSW) with a concentration in clinical practice and leadership from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
Abstract:
Unconscious bias in clinical supervision, ways to assess and address this form of bias in the clinical supervision dyad, and discuss ways to utilize Multicultural Supervision and Anti-Racism practices to address bias. This presentation will review the Implicit Bias & Structural Racism Framework, Implicit Association Test (IAT), Dismantling Racism on the Micro, Macro, and Mezzo Levels, and Multi-Tiered Intensive Supervision are examined for empirical and theoretical etiology of unconscious bias in clinical supervision.