Lesson 22: Keeper of Meaning

Attention

As we age our True, Ideal, and Public "Selves" become more and more similar!

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

• Reflect on the historical perspective of the "Mental Health System"

Teaching

Read Chapter 5 in Vaillant

We can sometimes perceive our "self" as being comprised of three "selves". Consider the graphic at the top of this page.

As we age our three "selves" become more "integrated"...elderly people care less as to what others think of them and have come to terms with the limitations of an ideal self, and thus they "are who they are". Anyone who has an elderly person in the household or who works at a nursing facility knows exactly what this refers to!

There is also a process by which women begin to take on more "male" characteristics of assertiveness and power while men tend to take on more "female" characteristics of nurturing and caring.

As such, the elderly "are who they are" and they are time capsules of a knowledge of what things were like in their time and they are keepers of "meaning" from the broad perspective of "having been there" and survived it (even if "there" is just "life")

In the world of mental health I have come across individuals who are "keepers of meaning" due to their long lasting relationship with the mental health system itself! That particular set of institutions has changed dramatically over the years...but the people in it are still in it! What historical perspective these individuals have on the "system" itself.

Assessment

Possible Class Discussion

We will use this forum to share stories of the "old days" in the Mental Health System for anyone who has experience with it. I will make some contributions and anyone in the class can do the same. Simply participating in ANY way in this discussion will warrant full credit.