Mental Health in Relationships and Family Systems

Course 6: Mental Health in Relationships and Family Systems Stage: Relationships & Society Course Description This course explores how mental health is shaped, strained, and supported within relationships and family systems. Learners examine attachment, responsibility, boundaries, conflict, and belonging across cultural contexts, with particular attention to African, diaspora, and global family dynamics. The course emphasises practical stability, emotional responsibility, and sustainable relational wellbeing. Modules & Lessons Module 1: Attachment, Responsibility, and Emotional Bonds Lessons: 1. Attachment patterns and emotional safety 2. Family roles, expectations, and invisible responsibilities 3. How early relationships shape adult mental health Value Enhancements: • Micro-case study: Adult child balancing extended family expectations in Nigeria • Interactive exercise: Learners identify dominant attachment patterns in key relationships • Optional Video Script: Expert explanation of attachment and family responsibility in collectivist cultures Assessment: Quiz + reflective journal Module 2: Boundaries, Belonging, and Psychological Safety Lessons: 1. Boundaries as protection, not rejection 2. Guilt, obligation, and emotional pressure 3. Psychological safety within families and partnerships Value Enhancements: • Scenario exercise: Setting boundaries without conflict • Worksheet: Personal boundary-mapping tool • Optional Video Script: Guided discussion on boundaries in African and faith-influenced families Assessment: Boundary map submission + short reflection Module 3: Relational Stress, Conflict, and Mental Strain Lessons: 1. Communication breakdown and emotional escalation 2. Power, control, and unspoken dynamics 3. How unresolved conflict affects mental wellbeing Value Enhancements: • Case scenario: Marital and intergenerational conflict under economic pressure • Mini-challenge: One-week communication awareness practice • Optional Video Script: Expert interview on managing conflict without emotional harm Assessment: Case analysis + reflective log Module 4: Building Supportive and Mentally Healthy Relationships Lessons: 1. Emotional accountability and mutual respect 2. Support without burnout or emotional over-functioning 3. Knowing when and how to seek external support Value Enhancements: • Interactive exercise: Design a “healthy relationship checklist” • Reflection: Identify one relationship to stabilise using course tools • Optional Video Script: Guided video on sustaining mental health in long-term relationships Assessment: Relationship support plan + reflective journal + quiz Learning Outcomes By the end of this course, learners will be able to: 1. Understand how relationships and family systems influence mental health. 2. Recognise unhealthy patterns of obligation, conflict, and emotional strain. 3. Apply boundaries and communication strategies to protect psychological wellbeing. 4. Build healthier, more supportive relational systems in personal and family life.