Mental Health in Puerto Rico Culture

Catalog description

This course is designed for graduate students in the Master Program in Public Health Education. It will discuss some definitions, uses and abuses of the term “mental health”, common notions and perceptions of the Puerto Rico concerning “mental health and m ental illness” and some theoretical models that offer a vision of the health individual. Upon analyzing some of the criteria that have been utilized in the attempt to define mental health, the applications for our culture will be discussed. Some indicators of mental health will be identified. The emphasis will be upon identifying the interrelation of cultural factors at level of the family, community, and society that significantly influence the mental or emotional health of the individual. The course will be offered in the third semester and is programmed for three hours of conference and/or group discussion. The student will carry out a research project that will elaborate upon one of the indicators of mental health.