Description of the Kenyon in Rome Program (2012)

CROSS CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

Two thousand years ago most of the world was ruled by Rome. Today Rome is Italy’s largest city and also one of the oldest cities in the world. In this course, we used the city of Rome, and of Italy more generally, to broaden our understanding of human behavior.  In particular, we examined the impact of culture on various facets of human behavior, such as the role of everyday culture on the self, the cultural influences of social behavior and gender, the association of culture and emotion, and the experience of cross-cultural psychopathology.

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ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY IN ITALY

What is the state of mental health in Italy? In this course we explored how Italians have understood the concept of abnormality and how this view has affected their mental health system. First, we reviewed the various historical models that have been put forth to understand abnormality and discuss the how the beginnings of the moral mental health movement began in Italy. Next, we examined in detail how in 1978 Italy passed the most radical mental health reform in all of Europe and the developed world which effectively banned all asylums and compulsory mental health admissions. We assessed the success of Legge 180, (Law 180) and compared the Italian mental health system to our very own and try to answer the question of:  Do the mentally ill need to be institutionalized? In doing so, we reviewed many of the major disorders typically found in abnormal psychology. Finally, we concluded with an overview of current mental health issues that are prominent in Italy.

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