Intro to Mental Health: Exploring the Four Mental States

An introductory course exploring the biopsychosocial model through four core mental states—affect, cognition, behavior, and personality—to enhance clinical assessment and whole-person mental health care.

Mental Health

Kelsey Latimer

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Description

This course introduces clinicians to the biopsychosocial model of mental health through the practical lens of four core mental states: affect, cognition, behavior, and personality (self/reality experience). Participants will explore how biological, psychological, and social determinants shape mental health presentations and influence clinical outcomes. Each mental state will be clearly defined, examined for clinical relevance, and understood as dynamically interacting across domains. Emphasis will be placed on how trauma, chronic pain, medical illness, and social stressors shift presentations across these states. Evidence-based therapeutic approaches—including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), behavioral, relational, and adjunct strategies—will be contextualized within this integrative framework. The course also provides practical screening tools, collaborative goal-setting strategies, and guidance for interdisciplinary referral to support whole-person care.

View syllabus

What you’ll learn:

Define the biopsychosocial model and describe its relevance to modern mental health care.
Differentiate the four mental states: affect, cognition, behavior, and personality/self-experience.
Explain how biological, psychological, and social factors influence each mental state bidirectionally.
Apply structured screening tools to assess disruptions in affect, cognition, behavior, and personality.
Integrate evidence-based interventions (CBT, DBT, relational, behavioral, adjunct therapies) into a biopsychosocial treatment framework.

Syllabus

Components

Foundations of the Biopsychosocial Model
- Defining biological, psychological, and social determinants of health
- Understanding how domains interact dynamically
- Why the psychological component is central to overall health outcomes
The Four Mental States Framework
- Affect: how you feel
- Cognition: how you think
- Behavior: what you do
- Self/Reality (Personality): how you experience yourself and the world
- Clinical distinctions and overlapping features
Clinical Assessment Through the Four Mental States
- Recognizing disruptions across states
- Understanding bidirectional influence
- Using the framework to organize case conceptualization
Biopsychosocial Influences on Mental States
- Trauma and stress exposure
- Chronic pain and medical comorbidity
- Psychological diagnoses
- Social determinants of health
- How domain shifts alter presentation and prognosis
Therapeutic Integration Within the Model
- Where CBT fits within cognition and behavior
- Where DBT addresses affect regulation and distress tolerance
- Relational approaches and personality/self constructs
- Behavioral activation and conditioning principles
- Adjunct and integrative approaches
Screening, Goal-Setting & Whole-Person Care
- Screening tools for affect, cognition, behavior, and personality
- Collaborative goal-setting
- Interdisciplinary referral considerations
- Teaching patients how each domain influences mental health outcomes

Live Event Info

schedule & location

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Releasing February 27, 2026

Event Location:

Online

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Online

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Also includes

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Months Medline Access

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Months of Access to Complete the course (from the date of purchase)

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Ability to resubscribe to keep access after

months

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Eligibility for Neurology Fellowship and Diplomate Examinations after the completion of 300+ hours of study

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Certificate of Completion