Mental health, individualism and society

bpols1322  2026-2027  Bruxelles Saint-Louis

Mental health, individualism and society
5.00 credits
30.0 h
Q1
Language
French
Prerequisites

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.
Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

The overall objective of this course is to enable students to understand what it means and what is involved in living in societies that are described as “individualistic,” which place a high value on individual autonomy and the power to act, particularly in terms of working on oneself. The course will show that this way of forming a society as a group of individuals has many consequences on our daily lives, including a fundamental concern for well-being and mental health. The course will analyze the tensions and consequences of individualism in various areas that involve intervention in the lives of others, when it comes to making someone (a child, a person with a disability, a person suffering from mental health issues, a person who wants to improve their “competitiveness” or “well-being,” etc.) more autonomous. 
In each of these areas (see below), we will see that this promotion and creation of autonomy are total social phenomena that involve not only social dimensions (changes in social relations in healthcare, education, parenting, etc.), but also political (transformations in power relations, changing roles of institutions, public policies promoting individual responsibility, etc.) and media (new discourses and new forms of legitimacy, controversies, publicization and privatization of issues, etc.).
The specific objectives of this course are as follows:
  1. To understand what is meant by individualistic societies and why the notions of individual autonomy, hidden potential, or interiority must be considered as norms (that bind us), values (that we hold dear), practices (that enable us to live), and forms of distinction (that situate us in relation to others)
  2. To understand the place that mental health (and more generally psychology) occupies today in our understanding of the world, as well as the consequences that this entails
  3. Understand the tensions that exist today in what can be called “forms of intervention on others,” which aim to make a person (more) autonomous: not only care (and in particular mental health care), but also parenting, education, social work, etc. where new policies and new professions are emerging (coach, peer expert, support worker, etc.).
  4. Identify and discuss the value of a social science approach to these subjects, which are often perceived as belonging to other disciplines (psychology, neuroscience, education, etc.).
 
Faculty or entity
> ESPB


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Learning outcomes
Bachelor in Information and Communication
COMB1BA
5
BESPO1160
Bachelor in Information and Communication (French-English)
COAB1BA
5
BESPO1160
Bachelor in Information and Communication (French-Dutch-English)
COTB1BA
5
BESPO1161
Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology
SOCB1BA
5
BESPO1160
Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology (French-English)
SOAB1BA
5
BESPO1160
Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology (French-Dutch-English)
SOTB1BA
5
Bachelor in Political Sciences
SPOB1BA
5
BESPO1160
Bachelor in Political Sciences (French-English)
SPAB1BA
5
Bachelor in Political Sciences (French-Dutch-English)
SPTB1BA
5