RE: [xmca] RE: mental health

From: Anton Yasnitsky <the_yasya who-is-at yahoo.com>
Date: Sat Jul 12 2008 - 00:00:39 PDT

I am wondering if this Cyrillic text will pass through:

Центральной идеей психологии искусства мы считаем
признание преодоления материала художественной фор-
мой или, что то же, признание искусства общественной
техникой чувства.

--- On Sat, 7/12/08, Achilles Delari Junior <achilles_delari@hotmail.com> wrote:

> From: Achilles Delari Junior <achilles_delari@hotmail.com>
> Subject: RE: [xmca] RE: mental health
> To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
> Received: Saturday, July 12, 2008, 12:18 AM
> Cathrene,
>
> Yes, very important. I'm interested in Vygotsky's
> theory of art.
> I must organize me and study his dissertation carefully...
> In Portuguese I find: "a idéia central da psicologia
> da arte é (...)
> o reconhecimento da arte como técnica social do
> sentimento"
> (Vygotsky, 2000, Psicologia da Arte, São Paulo, Martins
> Fontes)
> maybe something like = "the central idea of the
> psycholgoy of art
> is (...) the ackonwlegement of art as social technique of
> feeling"
>
> But in English the translation is something different:
>
> "The central idea of the psychology of art is (...)
> the
> acknowledgement in art of the social
> techniques of emotions".
> http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/1925/preface.htm
>
> "social techniques of emotions" IN art...
> or
> Art AS "social technique of feeling"...
>
> I don´t see the Russian...
>
> I'm realy interested in these "social
> techiniques"...
> But I don't know yet what precisely means
> "technique",
> because Greek "Tekhné" was "art"
> too... perhaps like
> a "know-how" or "savoir-faire", not
> necessarily like
> mechanical or unmediated skills, I supose.
>
> What do you think about this
> "central idea of the psychology of art"?
>
> Achilles,
> Umuarama, July 12, 2008
>
>
>
>
> > Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:55:02 -0400
> > From: cconnery@ithaca.edu
> > Subject: RE: [xmca] RE: mental health
> > To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> >
> > Hi Achilles, Mike, and others,
> > You might be interested in playing around with
> Vygotsky's theory of art as
> > a means of individual and collective catharsis in from
> his dissertation
> > The Psychology of Art. I agree with Mike that the use
> of multiple
> > mediational means can enhance and enrich people's
> consiousness and health.
> > Best,
> > Cathrene
> >
> >
> > Achilles asks:
> > > Can we really creat semiotical means to produce
> better mental health to
> > > people? Or this kind of a goal is a mistake like
> possible Vygotsky´s or
> > > perhaps some Vygotsky's followers'
> mistakes about 'social engeneering'?
> > >
> > > I would say YES to the first question. I'll
> take a shortcut and paste
> > > something in below from a book I've
> coauthored about The Discourse of
> > > Character Education (Erlbaum, 2005, with Joel
> Taxel). It draws on the
> > > dissertation of Leslie Cook, who looked at young
> women with depressive
> > > disorders and the mediational means they use to
> make sense of their lives.
> > > My apologies for the length of the following
> excerpt.
> > >
> > >
> > > Mental Health and Character Education
> > > We have briefly expressed our concern that the
> issue of mental health is
> > > virtually absent from discussions about character
> education. Yet many
> > > students who come to school with a mental health
> problems are treated as
> > > discipline problems of the sort measured as
> indexes of low character in
> > > the proposals we have studied. We believe that
> it is important for any
> > > character education initiative to recognize and
> account for mental health
> > > in its conception of good character, both for
> those with nonnormative
> > > makeups and those with whom they interact.
> > > Mental health is the elephant in the character
> education closet. The
> > > World Health Organization (2001) reports that
> about 7.5 million children
> > > in the U. S.—12% of all children under
> 18—have mental disorders,
> > > nearly half of which lead to serious disability.
> Jamison (1997) found
> > > that 20% of high school students had seriously
> considered committing
> > > suicide during the year prior to his study, with
> most having drawn up a
> > > suicide plan; suicide is the #3 cause of death of
> teenagers between 15
> > > and 19 years of age, often following from a
> depressive disorder. Yet
> > > most parents and teachers feel that mental health
> issues are poorly
> > > addressed in schools (Dowling & Pound, 1994;
> Rappaport & Carolla, 1999),
> > > many teachers have little understanding of how to
> recognize or respond to
> > > students with mental health problems (Madison,
> 1996), and only recently
> > > has mental health been identified as a reason to
> develop an Individual
> > > Education Plan (IEP) for students.
> > > These widespread misunderstandings have resulted
> in many such students
> > > being regarded as troublesome or lacking
> character in schools. Yet, as
> > > reporter Anne Imse (1999) wrote following the
> Columbine school shooting
> > > tragedy,
> > > Even teens as dangerously troubled as Eric Harris
> stand a good chance of
> > > slipping through the cracks in Jefferson County
> and across Colorado,
> > > failing to get badly needed mental health care.
> There are serious
> > > roadblocks to getting treatment for sick kids
> [including]
> > > • State prohibitions against law
> enforcement agencies telling schools
> > > about a problem kid unless there's a
> conviction;
> > > • Schools worrying about being saddled
> with psychiatric bills if they
> > > recommend treatment, or even being sued;
> > > • Not enough money earmarked for
> counselors and counseling for the
> > > state's youth.
> > > So, even though Jefferson County school officials
> have become more
> > > sensitive to kids' mental states . . . they
> remain hamstrung about
> > > arranging treatment. "We have no place to
> go with them," said Clark
> > > Bencomo, a counselor at Green Mountain High
> School. "All we can do is
> > > suspend or expel." "We are oftentimes
> reduced to putting a kid in a place
> > > where they're safe, but it's not the
> right program," added Kay Cessna,
> > > intervention services director for Jefferson
> County schools. "There are
> > > not enough places." [One parent of a child
> with disabilities complained],
> > > "They don't have the time, the manpower,
> and they don't get it."
> > >
> (http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/shooting/0516ment2.shtml)
> > > Cook (2004) finds this problem occurring in other
> states as well,
> > > reporting that students with mental health
> problems are often put in
> > > special education programs or disciplined when
> they act out, either as a
> > > consequence of their makeup (e.g., a child with
> Tourette’s syndrome’s
> > > involuntary profanity) or in response to the
> taunting they face from their
> > > peers.
> > > Yet a mental health professional would surely
> argue that the problem is
> > > not a lack of character and the solution is not
> to punish students with
> > > mental health problems. Rather, a broader
> understanding of mental health
> > > among students and faculty—the sort of
> attention to climate we found in
> > > the states from the Upper Midwest—would
> contribute to a more
> > > sympathetic and less punitive environment for
> such students in school.
> > > Indeed, Damasio (1994) argues in his
> somatic-marker theory against the
> > > classic Cartesian mind/body binary, instead
> positing that brain and body
> > > are integrally related not just to one another
> but to the environment. A
> > > change in the environment, he finds, may
> contribute to changes in how a
> > > person processes new information (cf. Luria,
> 1979; Pert, 1997); that is,
> > > in response to developments in the surroundings,
> the brain will encode
> > > perceptions in new kinds of ways.
> > > Conceivably, then, changes in school climate can
> contribute to the
> > > emotional well-being of students whose mental
> makeup falls outside the
> > > normal range. The therapy for such students is
> still widely debated.
> > > While medication and counseling have benefited
> many with nonnormative
> > > makeups in their relationships with others, the
> medical model has been
> > > criticized because it assumes that a normative
> mental state is best for
> > > all. This criticism frequently comes up in
> debates about whether
> > > medications for Attention Deficit Disorder are
> prescribed too often for
> > > any students who have difficulty focusing in
> school. Some argue that
> > > prescribing such medications is designed more to
> increase the comfort
> > > levels of those around such students than to help
> those students
> > > themselves.
> > > The jury is still out concerning the question of
> whether people with such
> > > diagnoses are sick and in need of medicine. Cook
> (2004) argues that
> > > relying simply on medication and counseling is
> inadequate; that a broader
> > > environmental change that enables an
> understanding and tolerance of
> > > difference, and gives young people tools for
> managing their difference, is
> > > essential to helping young people construct
> positive lives for themselves
> > > and in turn contribute to a more humane society.
> Taking a punitive
> > > approach to difference, she argues, is regressive
> and only makes life more
> > > fragile for those characterized as different and
> more emotionally and
> > > cognitively unhealthy for those who surround
> them.
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> > >
> >
> >
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Received on Sat Jul 12 00:02 PDT 2008

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