Chevron Left
Back to Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health by The University of Sydney

4.8
stars
3,440 ratings

About the Course

In today’s world, mental illness and distress are common and these account for a significant burden of disability within our community. At the same time, there is a growing interest in understanding and enhancing positive mental health and wellbeing; particularly from developments in the fields of positive psychology and mental health promotion. Positive Psychiatry is a new term (Jeste et al 2016) that describes a dual approach to mental health, where we build strengths, supports and healthy lifestyles as well as treating illness and distress. In this course, we will explore different aspects of good mental health as well as provide an overview of the major kinds of mental disorders, their causes, treatments and how to seek help and support. The course will feature a large number of Australian experts in psychiatry, psychology and mental health research, and we will also hear from “lived experience experts”, people who have lived with mental illness, and share their personal stories of recovery. We take an evidence-based approach to a range of strategies that anyone can use to enhance their own mental health and that of others, from exercise and relaxation techniques through to the role of love, relationships and 'good' types of work. We cover topics from creativity and yoga through to psychiatric medications and psychotherapies....

Top reviews

SE

May 16, 2022

This course has given me great insight on mental health and how everything is related to it but it most importantly taught me how to be in control of my mental healh and maintain a positive psychiatry

KH

Jul 21, 2022

I really enjoyed this course. I found the materail very releveant and useful both for myself, and my hope in working with other in the future. It was very comprehnsive and I loved taking this course.

Filter by:

1 - 25 of 1,103 Reviews for Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health

By Olivia H

May 19, 2020

I have lots of feedback on how to improve this course! :) Hope it is constructive and helpful for future iterations...

1) It's better to choose a dynamic, great speaker on camera, than an expert who cannot engage. Most of the speakers were really obviously reading a script behind the camera, and it was very weird to watch, I had to look away because it was so awkward seeing their eyes darting back and forth. I'd prefer a dynamic speaker who says 'this expert said this' than a boring expert (sorry guys). The eye thing was a real turn off, and some of them obviously felt really uncomfortable in front of the camera/teaching online. If they are going to read from a script anyway, better to choose someone better at on-screen facilitation (and get the expert to write the script!)

2) The content felt quite disjointed in places; like it was trying to cram all things 'mental health' into one module, but they didn't align or synchronise. I wasn't sure what the main takeaways were supposed to be. Just a small small insight into everything, which felt confusing.

3) The reading links were either a) outdated/a replica of the course content, b) didn't work or c) often were just random Australian website pages to join en event or workshop. This isn't 'reading for learning' in my opinion. They could've been much better.

4) Ultimately, I didn't feel like I learnt that much about mental health/psychiatry. It was very basic, and high level. I think I learnt more from reading books, but this course took much longer. I think this was because it was too broad, tried to cover too many topics and not enough time spent understanding them all properly.

Thank you!

By Coach J B

Feb 5, 2019

I learned what expected to learn from this course. I love the presenters and the manner of delivery. Resources abound too. I'm purchasing this course. I hope to meet you, guys in persons. Thank you.

By Michael

Jul 10, 2019

This is a fantastic resource for those suffer from depression, anxiety and other mental distresses. There are a number of perpsectives on mental health covered in the program, some I have only discovered through this course. The concepts are presented by pyschologists, pychiatrists and peoople who have suffered from mental distress. Information is presented in plain english and complex concepts are explained thoroughly. I have exprienced major depression and anxiety for the past 6 years, and only in the past 2 years have I been able to get the syptoms under control via medication. I have been trying to educate myself about my own mental health, and found that I would get lost in the sea of information available. This course provides a structured guide through some fairly complex topics, and found this to be the most benefitical part of the course. Thank you for putting this course together.

By Sabine G

Dec 11, 2020

I am disappointed by the course. It is understood it is a MOOC but it still doesn’t have to be this superficial. All in all this course was a waste of time.

The constant repetition of the message that family and friends are of huge importance is a slap in the face of all those who are precisely dealing with issues caused by family and have no real friends. It is disappointing for a Positive Psychology course to presuppose that everyone has someone close to turn to. This is not the reality for many people with mental illness issues. Moreover, the constant referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist to help in emergencies does not reflect the reality of the Australian health system where you have to wait for months to see any of these specialists or pay a fortune.

Also, I was taken aback by the referring to Aboriginal belief systems in past tense. This is very offensive for an Aboriginal person. Aboriginal spirituality and beliefs are very real today. Please fix that particular video ASAP.

By Prem P

Jul 18, 2020

Excellent course specially in current scenario i.e. Covid 19 situation. This course helped me to understand not only my mental conditions but also my near and dear ones mental health and conditions.

By marianna S T

Mar 28, 2019

I think people can make it more interesting. The videos are boring and the topics are kind of shallow

By Sayoon G

Jun 8, 2020

This course was designed with extremely outstanding qualities. The keen devotion of all the professors are highly appreciated. You have made it possible for me to move on in my professional career.

By Prannav K

Jul 7, 2019

This course is suitable for all those who want to learn the basics of mental health. It covers all the major topics in a brief with a lot of additional resources linked. Thanks to creators!

By Linsey A

Feb 26, 2018

Great content however the students who are grading the assignments don't give credit

By Esthela F

Aug 22, 2018

Es excelente y lo recomiendo para todos los enfoques de la psicologia, es bueno estar al tanto de la perspectiva humanista dentro de la psiquiatria y salud mental

By Eric J

Jul 7, 2020

Information was too repetitive all the time in every single week. Same introduction and nothing new. Words and the videos are repeating the same words in different ways. Too confusing and difficult to understand and this is why I give it a 1 star out of 5!!! This was a terrible course experience for me in my opinion.

By Harshitha E

Aug 19, 2020

Enjoyed and learned a lot in this MOOC. Inclusion of real life experiences is very touching. Learnt a lot about developing mental health and flourishing as a person. Thank you University of Sydney.

By Deleted A

May 2, 2021

I don't find it positive to be graded by fellow students nor to grade other students. Sure i understand the costs don't justify an instructor doing this. So why not just make it a computer generated quiz? To SUBJECTIVE. I am out.

By Samadrita N

Jun 28, 2020

This course came as so so helpful for me. I am sure it will be similar helpful for every single person who will opt for it. I can see change in me and my inner self. I came here to know about psychology as it been always my favorite field. But along with learning, my personality, my way of thinking changed.I feel different and I am loving it. Hope I will keep this new personality in tact. The promise they did is really is really worth it. My time spend doing this course, came to success. Hope to go for and opt new course of psychology and complete my desire of learning in this field. All the thanks to every renowned personalities who taught for providing with such knowledge and it is really interesting and the whole of POSITIVE PSYCHIATRY AND MENTAL HEALTH of Sydney University, Australia. My dealing with people and situation changing, and this is what I am loving the most. Hope to visit there soon. Lots of love and good wishes from INDIA, keep flourishing. Lastly, all the very best to the new comers. I will suggest, GO FOR IT ! YOU WILL LOVE IT !!

By Stefani S M

Nov 14, 2019

This course is very beneficial to improve my personal and professional insights on Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health approaches in order to enhance ability to achieve mental well being.

By Samriddhi G

Aug 20, 2020

Good concepts, brilliantly explained, very extensive and insightful videos and reading material. You will take back with you all the necessary teachings around positive psychiatry from this course.

By Simran S

Feb 2, 2018

Very well structured and speaks to anyone who may not have any background in psychology/mental health field.

By Reem N

Aug 28, 2019

I believe we need more examples on how to practice positive psychiatry in modern day

By Maxe F G

Aug 17, 2021

For some background, this is my first class taken on Coursera and I have a master's degree, so my expections might not be adequate. In general, this might be a good class for someone who has no experience in mental health or in academic circles.

(1) Most affirmations during lectures weren't based on scientific studies. If it were, then the references weren't provided. Affirmations like ''3% of people experience psychosis'' needs at least a reference to a meta-analysis.

(2) The links provided in the lectures were websites. This works for high school, but not for a class given by a university. Also, some of them were outdated and didn't work.

(3) The lectures tone were friendly instead of academic.

(4) The exams question were confusing. In fact, they weren't really questions, but a sentence with a box. ''Essay refers to at least one lecture'' dosen't explicit what is expected from students to write in the box. Also, many questions were traps: they asked for at least one element, but you needed to write at least two to have all points.

By SATISH K K

Sep 19, 2018

Excellent Course integrating positive psychology, mindfulness and wellness modules. TITLE of the course speaks a LOT; never before it was thought that Psychiatry will also be re-seen as therapeutic modality through wellness modalities. I an qualified for Positive Psychiatry, Mindfulness (with Honors), Dr Milton Erickson's Psychotherapy & NLP (Full professional course) ; AND I find this copurse great and wonderful. It opens a new area for those willing to be practitioner of NEW AGE THERAPIES. Dr Satish Kumar Kushwaha

By Richard O

Apr 30, 2020

I have learnt in this past 5weeks more than I ever knew about mental challenges and its effect on the society, than I have known in 4decades. This course is revolutionary and has whetted my appetite to explore its core ideologies further.

By Laura D

Apr 28, 2020

Absolutely spot on with all the subjects and materials. There are plenty of great sources and reading materials and it is just such a beautiful subject to learn no matter the work domain you're in.

By Anitah A

May 8, 2020

I joined the course to learn how to better understand people and to effectively help them, and as a bonus I completed the course having a better understanding of myself and improved mental health!

By AnnaMarie M

May 6, 2019

The content of this course has been beneficial by presenting the various aspects of what positive psychiatry actually is and its effects on mental health. The material is useful, not only for those who are afflicted with varying conditions of mental health, but for personal self awareness and care. The take away for me is that I have been given tools to be more alert and cognizant of engaging in positive psychiatry.

By Sanuri T

May 7, 2020

I highly enjoyed this course. It was informative, and well structured. The videos and readings gave me a further understanding of mental illnesses and gave me a clear understanding of what they are and how one can overcome them. Having gone through depression myself, I was determined to help others that are going through mental illnesses. This course helped me equip my self to do so.