Master of Arts in Alternative Mental Health Services

1. Introduction  
Thank you for your interest in the European-American University Master of Arts in Alternative Mental Health Services program. The program is designed to be completed within ninety-six weeks by a student devoting ten to twelve hours a week, working by distance learning.

The program is outlined below, but individual details may be varied on the initiative of the Mentor and/or student, always subject to ratification by the University. In principle, the aim is to provide a fully bespoke, individualized learning experience that takes into account the particular strengths, interests and previous learning of the student, and thus offers a flexible but rigorous route to the degree.

The program focuses on approaching persons undergoing emotional distress and developmentally different persons through a humanistic paradigm outside of the biopsychiatric model. It currently consists of four modules and a thesis.

A. AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES
B. EASTERN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
C. CRITICAL PSYCHOLOGY
D. EXTREME STATES OF MIND
E. A Dissertation Topic

2. Aims and objectives
The goal of the program is to train professionals who will look towards integrative, holistic, and humane approaches towards reaching distressed and developmentally different persons. The program is not designed to meet any licensure requirements.

3. Methods of delivery
The delivery of the teaching for the course is by distance learning. Students will be assigned a Mentor who will be a practitioner in the field and/or an established academic. They will work out the exact details of what is to be studied and how this will be assessed in co-operation with the Mentor with this learning contract then ratified by the University. In most cases, students will communicate with their Mentor via electronic communications (e-mail, fax) although some Mentors prefer to work via postal mail, and many will also offer telephone support. Texts will be assigned and a reflective paper will be completed every 4 weeks with a minimum of weekly contact with the faculty Mentor. A thesis on alternative mental health will be completed over a 6 month period after completion of all courses.

4. Course materials
The chosen methods of learning are designed to offer the student the maximum of flexibility and scope in tackling the program.

The individualized nature of the program means that traditional course materials in the form of structured course notes are rarely appropriate or practical, although it is hoped that where possible, Mentors will make their notes on particular topics available to the student. Students are, of course, responsible for creating their own course notes based on their reading and related work.

Most work within the program will consist of directed readings from key texts selected by the Mentor. The student will be responsible for obtaining books, which are not included in the tuition fees, although both the Mentor and the University will endeavor to assist in the event of any difficulty in obtaining texts. The Mentor will set regular assignments based on the directed reading, most of which will be in the form of an essay or paper. Students must achieve no less than an overall B- grade in each module to proceed to the next. Mentors will also provide guidance on background reading for each topic.

The following texts will be necessary for each course:

AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES:
- Edmunds, D. (2010) Navigating through the mainstream, Center for Humane Psychiatry, Tunkhannock, PA
- Stillman (2002) Demystifying the Autistic Experience: A Humanistic Introduction for Parents, Caregivers and Educators
- Stillman (2006) Autism and the God Connection: Redefining the Autistic Experience Through Extraordinary Accounts of Spiritual Giftedness

CRITICAL PSYCHOLOGY
- Edmunds, D. (2006) They say my child has ADHD: thinking outside the bio-psychiatric paradigm. European American University Press.
- Edmunds, D. (2010) The meeting of two persons: what therapy should be. European American University Press.
- Whitaker, R. (2002), Mad in America: the enduring mistreatment of the mentally ill. Perseus. Cambridge, MA.
- Laing, R.D. (1967), The politics of experience. Perseus. New York.

EXTREME STATES OF MIND
- Grof Spiritual Emergency
- Grof Stormy Search for the Soul
- Laing (1960) The divided self.

EASTERN APPROACHES TO MENTAL HEALTH
(materials to be announced)

5. Entry requirements
The usual minimum requirements for entry to the program are as follows:


Candidates will normally have attained the age of twenty-eight years. All candidates will be expected to show a proficiency in the English language.

It is a key principle of the University that each application should be considered on its own merits, and admission to the program and all interpretations as to the eligibility for such admission remain at the discretion of the University.