An on-line course in critical mental health promotion: teaching and learning at multiple spheres of influence

Background: Supportive environments contribute to the mental health of individuals, local and global communities. Ways of thinking “critically” about what we know and ways of accomplishing mental health promotion work have a more contested history however. A critical perspective demands subjective awareness, and an openness to view the world from multiple perspectives. As such, a collaborative, international, and fully on-line course was developed between post-secondary educational institutions in Norway and Canada. This course intends to meet a need for critical awareness and understanding of the connection of diverse perspectives and environments to mental health promotion practices in the field. Purpose: Our study, of the development and implementation of an innovative critical mental health promotion course, was oriented around the following key questions: How is capacity for critical mental health promotion awareness developed through an on-line international learning environment? And how can supportive learning environments reshape mental health support across international borders? Our goal was to explore the work of students and faculty with the tensions that dominate current mental health promotion. This course began from the diverse locations, experiences and approaches of our students as important sites of critical exploration. Through the virtual world of electronic learning activities, students entered this diversity of worlds, and debated over the shape of health and mental health as notions themselves, as well as over the approaches that best produce support. Most importantly, students debated over the distribution of power, justice, and social and economic advantage held within mental health and various approaches to promoting mental health. Method: The overall approach was based on action research using collaborative enquiry of the case study of our pilot course offering. The enquiry was conducted over 3 years of course development and pilot course delivery. Results: Ultimately, through our reflection and study of the critical learning approaches in action, we were able to explore what supportive environments for mental health are and what particular approaches“do” locally and globally. Further we were able to reorient mental health promotion work through network building in ways that may potentially change nursing practice. Conclusions: The results and lessons learned, from development to implementation of an on-line collaborative international mental health promotion course, expanded the capacities of nursing programs, educational institutions, faculty and students, and expanded what can be known about supportive environments for mental health