Mind-melds and other tricky business: Teaching threshold concepts in mental health preservice training

Key threshold concepts that allow students to develop a person-centred approach to care include the ability to see the patient as a person, as well as recognition of the impact of stereotypes and biases on personal actions. These concepts can become particularly challenging when they are applied to behaviours or ideas that conflict with societal norms, in particular in relation to mental illness. Ethical mental healthcare therefore requires the practitioner to move beyond fear, personal prejudice and misunderstanding of people living with mental illness. Traditional teaching strategies can emphasise theory while limiting students’ scope for deeper personal reflection, exploration and questioning of world views. This chapter discusses novel teaching strategies to explore these concepts in relation to mental illness, using two stories from Star Trek.