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Philosophy & Ethics of Mental Health

Welcome to the Division of Philosophy & Ethics of Mental Health 

Vision

To develope academic capacity in the interdisciplinary area of Philosophy and Mental Health with a view to building on international developments in the field, contributing to the development of person-centred mental health and responding to the diversity of individual and cultural needs and interests of mental health care users, communities, psychiatrists, other mental health care workers, and philosophers.

Mission

1. Development of training and teaching capacity

  • To develop and maintain dynamic, sustainable, and practically relevant training programmes in Philosophy and Mental Health, which are person-centred and relevant to the needs of Africa and South Africa
  • To build intellectual and practical skills capacity in philosophy and mental health among the diverse people of Africa and South Africa
  • To enhance teaching and learning opportunities and research studentships

2. Development of research capacity

  • To undertake and advance rigorous conceptual and empirical research in philosophy and mental health
  • To enhance capability in conceptual and empirical research in mental health
  • To build logistical capacity for substantial, high quality conceptual and empirical research in mental health
  • To help build excellence in mental health practice through philosophical research on the concepts guiding mental health practice
  • To advance philosophical theory by making the phenomena of psychiatry more accessible to philosophers
  • To enhance and facilitate collaborative learning through exchange of ideas, experience, knowledge and skills relevant to mental health practice and philosophy
  • To facilitate participation in national and international developments, publications, conferences, organisations and events that are related to philosophy and mental health

 3. Influence mental health practice, services, policies & education

  • To enhance the effectiveness of psychiatrists and other mental health care workers as practitioners, teachers, and researchers by illuminating the conceptual and philosophical issues embedded in these activities.
  • To influence mental health practice, service development, policies and education guided by an appreciation for individual differences and respect for diversity among health care users, societies, psychiatrists and other mental health care workers.
  • To advance responsible debates on contentious issues in mental health practices, services, policies and education in Africa and South Africa and on issues of international importance
  • To collaborate with international, African and South African tertiary institutions to advance the educational, research, and clinical interests in philosophy and psychiatry respectively and as an interdisciplinary subject.
 

News

New Chair in Department of Mining Engineering to help save lives - 18/06/2013
Research on a safer working environment in the hard-rock mining industry will henceforth be a very specific focus area at the University of Pretoria. This is the result of a donation of R4.7 million over 3 years by Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (Harmony) to UP in order to establish a Chair in Rock Engineering and Numerical Modelling in the mining industry. The Harmony chair will be housed in the Department of Mining Engineering of the University’s Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology.
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TuksRugby reigns supreme in 2013 Carlton League - 16/06/2013
TuksRugby has proven its supremacy in Blue Bulls club rugby on Saturday, June 15 by claiming all five championship titles on offer in the 2013 Carlton League. The top prize at stake was the coveted Carlton Cup, the piece of silverware that eluded UP-Tuks 1 last year when they went down 23-27 to Police in the final.
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New Poultry Disease Management Agency (PDMA) and UP Research Poultry Chair launched in the Faculty of Veterinary Science - 13/06/2013
The new PDMA-UP Poultry Research Chair in the Faculty of Veterinary Science was recently launched by the Faculty and the South African Poultry Association (SAPA). This exciting collaborative partnership aims among other things, at conducting research on poultry diseases that have an impact on our economy. The first incumbent of this Chair, Prof Celia Abolnik, who was recently appointed by the Production Animal Studies Department, will be conducting research projects in conjunction with the Poultry Disease Management Agency (PDMA), the government as well as other relevant stakeholders.
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UP crosses borders with tourism - 13/06/2013
The Faculty of Humanities of the University of Pretoria was recently represented by two academic staff members at the Atlas Africa conference in Kigali, Rwanda. Mr Richard Wyllie (Department of Historical and Heritage Studies) and Professor Chris Boonzaaier (Department of Anthropology and Archaeology) both presented papers. For the first time in its history, the eighth bi-annual event was hosted by the Rwanda Tourism University College (RTUC) from 3 to 5 June 2013.
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Theatre highlights: Chasing and As Night Falls - 11/06/2013
There are performances of the shows Chasing (based on the life of Ingrid Jonker) and As Night Falls (based on the life of Helen Martins) at the Masker Theatre at the University of Pretoria. These shows are collaborations between the Drama Department and Matchbox Theatre Collective and both shows are choreographed by Nicola Haskins. Make sure you don't miss these shows before they head to perform at Smithfield and at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. As Night falls won a Standard Bank Ovation Award in 2011.
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Marketing honours students impress Newsclip - 10/06/2013
Part of the BComHons (Marketing Management) programme is to equip students with practical skills that they will need as young marketers in the industry. In order to meet this goal, the Department of Marketing Management partnered with Newsclip. The partnership enabled students to conduct media monitoring in the print, broadcast, online and social media environments, by utilising the various Newsclip delivery and media platforms available.
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Faculty of Veterinary Science: Research article about Dinosaurs published in the prestigious journal, Nature - 07/06/2013
The Department of Paraclinical Sciences of the Faculty of Veterinary Science is not only expanding its horizons, it is also digging deeper into the past. Dr Fritz Huchzermeyer, an extraordinary lecturer in the Department, was a co-author of an article that was recently published in the prestigious journal, Nature. The work was done in collaboration with paleontologists in China. This publication reported the preservation of ovarian follicles in Mesozoic birds from China and the early evolution of avian reproductive behaviour. Crocodilians and birds are closely related to dinosaurs and are, therefore, ideal models to explain the reproductive behaviour of these extinct animals.
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