ORIENTATION institutions/societal structures

surrounding you
Module 1
Essentialism
Self
- A belief in underlying true forms or
- “I” what I know about myself without
essences
interaction, reflection
- A discontinuity between different forms
- “me” how I deal with others
- Constancy (absence of change over
- Descriptions of the self are based on
time)
roles
- Gordon Allport combined traits of the Social constructionism
personality into the OCEAN, the
- Our experiences in the world is ordered
openness, consciousness
- Language helps us make sense of the
extroversion/introversion, agreeable,
world
neuroticism (how you deal with
- Reality of life is shared, shared
problems, stress)
typifications of reality become
- We identify ourselves through the
institutionalized
circles we are in
- Knowledge may be institutionalized at
Essentialism – phenomena of the natural world the level of society
are simply a reflection of a finite number of
Critical approaches of the self
fixed and unchanging forms, or eide.
- We are looking into how people live
- A circle is not a triangle, we are
their lives, we are products that emerge
essentially unique from each other,
when people live and act socially
identities are fixed to the person
- Language – the use of language to
- It does not change over time
negotiate and construct meaning to our
(constancy)
everyday lives, so we interpret the
- A belief in underlying true forms or
world /make meaning the same way as
essences
others
- A discontinuity between different forms
- Macro – broader patterns of social
Social constructionism structures and practices shape and are
enacted in the interactions that people
- Our experiences of the world is ordered
have with each other
- Language provides the basis on which
- Micro – How language re(produces)
we make sense of world (same
ideology and inequality by means of
language used, easier connections and
understanding how we use language to
interactions)
accomplish a particular background
- The reality of everyday life is shared
(self)
- Shared typifications of reality become
institutionalized Power and Self
- Knowledge may be institutionalized at
- The individual is not a vis-à-vis of
the level of society
power, it is one of its prime effects
- Habitualization – makes behavior
- The self is a direct consequence of
predictable, affected by
power and can only be apprehended in
 terms of historically specific systems of - Social action has a part in the self-
discourse (what is imposed on us process (whatever is shared by others, I
becomes the values we adopt, adapt into myself)
dictatorship for example)
Social construction
- Systems of discourse – how we interact
with each other and make meaning - The self is a joint accomplishment,
- The self is coerced into existence, not to neither completely determined by
become an agent but as a mechanism social world or pregiven at birth
of control where systems of discourse - About meanings and understandings
work from the inside out by creating a associated with the public self, the self
self-regulating subject (takes effects in that is visible and known to others and
politics, pop culture, fandoms, families) encompassed by what we come to
- Regulating subject – reinforcing the accept within the cultural category of
subject to conform or outcasting the personhood
person when there is opposition
- Life is not about finding your true self, Narratives/storytelling – a resource for self-
but creating who you wish to be (self construction
and identity are constructed within, not Non-human objects as an apparatus – modern
outside of discourse) untying of identities has been accompanies by
- This approach gets rid of the power we an expansion of object centered environments
have to ourselves, focuses more on the which situate and stabilize selves, define
power of society rather than the person individual identity as much as communities and
The self as a reflexive process families used to do

- It is a mistake to say identities are trans- Module 2

historical and universal, also a mistake The process and context of selfhood
to say that personhood and selves are
not (Wiley 1994) - Selfhood – a process of construction
- Identity develops over time, identity - I think, therefore I am
and self are two different things - Language – allows us to communicate
- Subject of own actions and object of what we think
own reflection 1. Gestures (words or nonverbal
- It is by means of reflexiveness – the responses)
turning back of the experience of the 2. Adjustment of the response
individual upon himself – that the (reaction to whatever is happening,
whole process is thus brought into the or in response to others,
experiences of the individuals involved adjustment to other’s attitudes)
in it 3. Inner attitude (reflection on inner
- How you control yourself from the attitude)
inside to the outside, opposite of post- - The body is not the self, as such; it
modernism becomes a self only when it has
- Identity is a social product of the self- developed a mind within the context of
process social experience
- Communication is fundamental to the the gesture refers (communication
nature of what we term “mind”, to other people)
language is needed to make sense of - Gestures -> Adjustment of the response
the world around us -> meaning -> reflection -> gestures
- The mind arises through - Reflection – how you interpret what
communication by a conversation of had happened so you can go back to
gesture in a social process (sign adjusting your responses, or learn
language, nonverbal cues first before something for the next time you
learning new language) encounter a similar situation
- Imitation – tendency on the part of the - Self – a social structure that arises from
organism to reproduce what it sees or the social experience
hears other organisms doing - Two stages of full development of self
- Thought – he will act in such a way, and 1. Individual’s self is constituted
I will act in this way, thought processes simple by an organization of the
change over time particular attitudes of other
- Symbol – if you conceive the mind just individuals towards himself and
as a sort of conscious substance in toward one another in the specific
which there are certain impressions and social acts in which he participates
states, and hold that one of those states with them (gestures, attitudes
is a universal, then a word becomes reflected through social acts,
purely arbitrary, tangible and intangible imitation and belonging)
things can be symbols 2. Self is constituted not only by an
- Meaning – a development of something organization of these particular
objectively there as a relation between attitudes, but also by an
certain phases of the social act, organization of social attitudes of
meaning is something reflected inward, the generalized other or the social
delivered through communication group as a whole to which he
- Social process belongs (how we create meaning
1. Social process, through and reflect, how we generate sense
communication, which it makes of belonging to community with
possible among the individuals which we are interacting)
implicated in it, is responsible for - Social interaction – Reflection ->
the appearance of a whole set of a Communication -> Feedback ->
whole of new objects in nature, Meaning -> Reflection (this cycle
which exists in relation to it. encompasses the self)
(common sense) - This approach combines the previous
2. The gesture of one organism and behavioral theory (that interaction
the adjustive response of another depends on interactions with others)
organism to that gesture within any with cognitive theories (reflection,
given social act bring out the feedback, symbolism,
relationship that exists between the interpretation/meaning-making, before
gesture as the beginning of the interacting again)
given act and the completion or
resultant of the given act, to which
 - Thoughts affect the feedback and Key characteristics – culture affects behavior
meaning, negative and positive, and interpretations of behavior
affecting actions
Artifacts and creations -> Values <- Basic
Module 3 – Culture, Ethnicity, and Personality assumptions

Nature vs. Nurture – nature is the biological, Traits, perceptions, values, are affected by
inherited part of our personality, nurture is the environments, culture, experiences
environment and social interactions
Culture is learned – from TV shows,
Culture – consists of the derivatives of psychologists, social media influence
experience, more or less organized, learned or
Culture can be differentiated from both
created by individuals of a population, including
universal human nature and unique individual
those images or encodements and their
personality
interpretations (meanings) transmitted from
past generations, from contemporaries, or Specific to individual – personality
formed by individuals themselves
Specific to group or category – culture
Culture gets replaced over time, globalization
influences the mixing of cultures Universal – human nature

Bayongs, vinta, arnis Personality – enduring characteristics and

behavior that comprise a person’s unique
Culture is manifested at different layers of adjustment to life, including major traits,
depth interests, drives, values, self-concept, abilities,
emotional patterns
1. Observable facts
2. Values Gertz (1966) - not only does culture define what
3. Basic underlying assumptions the self is, it also prescribes how people should
manage their self in everyday life
Artifacts and Creations – visible & audible
behavior, patterns, technology, art Culture is part of our self-regulation
Values – awareness of the things around us Western culture – individualistic, adaptable to
change and trends, less family oriented
Basic assumptions – relationship to
environment, nature of reality, time and space, Eastern culture – collectivistic, not adaptable to
nature of human nature (how we behave), changes, very family oriented
nature of human activity (what we do) nature of
human relationships (how we deal with other In the constitution of selfhood, an important
people) cultural coordination device for self

TV shows, art, social media, and other things Ideal type of development
influence our values and determine the kind of 1. Independent cultural paradigm
society we live in and how we communicate - Self-direction, pursuits of personal
with each other, values come from belief excellence, actualization of inner
systems potentials
Artifacts and creations <- Values -> Basic 2. Interdependent cultural paradigm
assumptions
 - Transcend the bounded individual self a. Unrealistic – I can’t be fat or else I’ll
through cultivating concerns for the be ugly
collective good b. Realistic
c. Openness to other values and
Psychological processes influence culture
beliefs
Culture influences psychological processes 3. Social aspect
a. Income or money at hand – money
Individual thoughts and actions influence is life
cultural norms and practices as they evolve over b. Culture
time, and these cultural paradigms influence c. Relationship – family, friends,
the future thoughts and actions of individuals romance, work/school
which then influence the persistence and
change of culture over time Stress – natural human response prompting us
to address challenges and threats in our lives
Module 4
Healthy stress – Helps us perform daily activities
Module 5
Unhealthy stress – Hard for us to relax and can
Module 6 come with a range of emotions (irritability,
Agency – capacity to act, how we can help anxiety, physical pains)
others based on our rights and values Effects of stress
1. Involves our knowledge and 1. Depressive symptoms
experiences 2. Anxiety-related symptoms
2. Involves power to influence the political 3. Physical illness
system
3. Involves occasion – (appropriate Mental health is the third most common
time/moments) so the action taken disability in the Philippines
solves the problem more efficiently
6 mil Filipinos – living with depression and/or
(sometimes rallying is no longer as
anxiety
effective as it was before)
3.2/100000 population – high suicide rates
Module 7
When Filipinos seek professional help, it is
Mental health – state of mental well-being that
usually done in combination with other sources
enables people to cope with the stresses of life,
of care or only used when the mental health
realize their abilities, learn well and work well,
problem is severe (lack of money, lack of
and contribute to their community (WHO, 2022)
awareness, family-oriented and religious
Factors affecting: culture)

1. Coping with stress Psychologist board exam in 2014, still new, only
a. Adaptive coping – problem focused, around 2000 psychologists registered, smaller
reflection amount actually practice their profession,
b. Maladaptive coping – emotion- smaller still remain in the Philippines
focused, avoidance
The presence of low level cases of depression,
2. Beliefs system
anxiety, PTSD etc. might develop into more
severe cases of mental health (schizophrenia, - aftercare and rehabilitation
psychosis) that requires money - adequate information about
psychosocial and clinical assessments
Depression
- participation in the treatment plan to
- Depressed mood (feeling sad, down, be implemented
empty)
Coping strategies
- Loss of pleasure or interest in activities
(anhedonia) 1. Problem-focused coping – finding
- Poor concentration solutions to root problems, facets of
- Feeling very tired or low in energy active coping, use of information
- Feelings of excessive guilt or low self- support (using facts), planning (what
worth can I do, which tasks are difficult or
- Hopelessness about the future easier to finish), and positive reframing
- Thoughts about dying or suicide (kaya ko to)
- Disrupted sleep 2. Emotion-focused coping – venting, use
- Changes in appetite or weight of emotional support, humor,
acceptance, self-blame, religion
Anxiety
3. Avoidant coping – leads to emotional
- Excessive anxiety or worry distress, self-distraction, denial,
(apprehensive expectation), occurring substance use (cigarettes, alcoholism,
more days than not for at least 6 drug, abuse of caffeine), behavioral
months disengagement (harming others and
- Difficulty controlling the worry yourself)
- Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on
Module 8
edge
- Being easily fatigued Module 9
- Difficulty concentrating or mind going
Module 10
blank
- Irritability
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disturbance

Barriers in help seeking behavior

1. Financial constraints – expensive

services and medicines
2. Self-stigma
3. Social stigma – sense of shame from
other people’s opinions, isolating
pressure from others, discrimination

Mental Health Act

- freedom from discrimination

- protection from torture, cruel,
inhumane and degrading treatment