The module introduces students to the re-emergent interdisciplinary field of law and psychoanalysis. Uniquely, it will examine both how psychoanalytic insights may contribute to legal thinking, as well as how legal thinking may contribute to psychoanalytic theory and practice. From its earliest days psychoanalysis has had a link to the law. Hans Kelsen was a part of Sigmund Freud’s Vienna circle in the 1920s. Starting with US judges such as Jerome Frank and Benjamin Cardozo (who both underwent analysis), psychoanalytic insights had a strong influence in developing the theory of legal realism. In the 1960s the law and psychoanalysis project at Yale Law School included seminars led by Anna Freud.

This first-year module will inspire you to build a meaningful philosophy of life. As an interdisciplinary module within the fields of Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Studies, Childhood Studies, therapeutic and clinical practice, Happiness Studies, the Sociology of Health and Medical Humanities, it will enable you to reflect on what we think we need to be happy and what a good and meaningful life entails for individuals and societies. You will also be encouraged to explore how small changes in our ways of thinking may help us to live better lives. A key question for this module is how we can find space for happiness, wellness, and mindfulness in a globalised world shaped by climate crises, war and violence, pandemics, oppression and inequality and the biopolitical organisation of our lives. Through reflective activities and class discussions you will be encouraged to use theoretical ideas to research your own lives, your established ways of thinking and your current perspective on life. As such, the module will motivate you to invest in developing an individual philosophy of life, and reflect on how a pragmatic and realistically optimistic outlook for life can be pursued, both at an individual, as well as a social level.

This module is designed to enable you to take up a mentoring or supervisory role in your organisation by equipping you with theoretical understanding of the dynamics of that role, and by considering in depth your mentoring or supervision of a colleague or peer over 5 weeks. You can also practice mentoring in workshops and gain valuable feedback to improving your skills.

The aim of this module is to develop your knowledge and understanding of the principles of psychodynamic counselling and provide you with a grasp of the key skills useful in supportive work with children and adolescents. You will also deepen your understanding of the dynamics of relationships and encounters between staff and children/adolescents.

In this module, you’ll explore three interrelated phenomena – dream, myth, and magic – that emerge at the intersection of the conscious and unconscious mind. Each was deeply involved, explicitly or implicitly, in the development of depth psychology, and each continues to be a site of reflection and controversy within the field.

How has the concept of mental health been developed by psychiatrists? What role do genetic, psychological, social and cultural factors play in causing mental illness? How has mental health treatment developed? Critically examine mental illness, psychiatric thinking and practice, and mental health services, using real-life examples in your debates.

What impact has the printed press had on our social and cultural life? What about radio, cinema, TV and recorded music? And how important is all this in the light of new technological advancements? Examine the development of our mass media culture, from the nineteenth century to the present day.