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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

Official launch of the National Biodiversity and Business Network - 21/05/2013
The National Biodiversity and Business Network of South Africa was officially launched at the Gordon Institute of Business Sciences (GIBS) in Sandton on 15 May 2013. The University of Pretoria was represented by Dr Claudious Chikozho and Ms Anesu Makina, both from Albert Luthuli Centre for Responsible Leadership (ALCRL), as well as Prof Don Cowan from FABI.
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Open Day was a success! - 21/05/2013
I am pleased to inform you that I received many messages conveying positive feedback on the UP Open Day 2013. I was especially pleased about comments that the UP team of staff, students and volunteers was especially helpful and friendly. My heartfelt appreciation to all who contributed to a positive experience for parents, prospective students, families, school principals and teachers. I encourage you to keep up the good work. Open Day is an important event for the University for attracting good students, and for broadly enhancing the reputation and status of the University.
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World Kangaroo Mother Care Day celebrated by final year students - 21/05/2013
Staff and students from the Department of Communication Pathology at the University of Pretoria are involved in one of the most important evidence-based interventions for preterm and low birth weight babies in the world. The final year students are participating in Kalafong Hospital as audiologists and speech-language therapists in this very effective neonatal method to care for preterm and low birth weight babies.
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Open Day 2013: School learners encouraged to choose University of Pretoria - 20/05/2013
‘Making a choice to enrol at a university, and deciding which university to attend are the most important decisions any young person can make in their lifetime. Therefore, make a good decision: choose the University of Pretoria.’
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TuksGolf Training Centre officially opened at the University of Pretoria - 17/05/2013
The University of Pretoria prides itself on its publicly recognised achievements pertaining to its various sporting fraternities. These achievements can be attributed to the University’s sporting facilities, which are of the highest quality among South African universities. To add to its quality achievements, the University of Pretoria, through TuksSport and the High Performance Centre (hpc), has now officially opened a golf training centre.
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South African law professor to report to the United Nations on Lethal Robots - 16/05/2013
South African human rights law professor, Christof Heyns, will submit a widely anticipated report on Lethal Autonomous Robots (LARs) to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council on 29 May 2013. Prof Heyns, from the University of Pretoria (UP), was appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions in 2010. During last year, he conducted worldwide research on the question whether states should be allowed to use LARs - weapons that, once deployed, can use lethal force without further human intervention - during war, or peace.
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A continental Leadership Transformation Programme established - 15/05/2013
The African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Albert Luthuli Centre for Responsible Leadership (ALCRL) recently co-hosted a roundtable aimed at establishing a continental leadership transformation programme.
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