Professional Certificate in Mental Health Practice

The Professional Certificate in Mental Health Practice is an on-line program, studied part-time over thirteen two week blocks (i.e. over 26 weeks in total). Breaks are scheduled during the program when assessments are due to give students sufficient time to complete assignments and receive feedback prior to the next block of teaching. It is anticipated that the course would be completed over 12 months.

The course is targeted primarily at professionals currently working in the field of mental health or for those working in organisations where mental health issues are prevalent. This may include those with backgrounds in nursing, social work, occupational therapy and other allied health fields, psychology and psychiatry, as well as general practitioners and those working in the non-government services provided for people with mental health problems, emergency services and other organisations.

It aims to complement each of the professional groups’ discipline-specific practice standards or competencies and address the shared knowledge and skills required when working in a multidisciplinary mental health environment through critical analysis and practical application. It outlines the knowledge, skills and attitudes required when individual members of the five main mental health professions work in a mental health service.

The course is designed to link to The National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce (Practice Standards), which were developed in 2002 as part of the National Mental Health Strategy and provide practical benchmarks for the knowledge, skills and attitudes required by all mental health professionals.

The Practice Standards promote psychiatric rehabilitation, recovery and a ‘human’ approach to mental health service delivery by emphasising partnerships and collaboration with consumers, family members and/or carers in service planning, delivery and evaluation. The main approach to managing mental health issues has emphasised a multidisciplinary framework. Health professionals from different disciplines, and with a range of qualifications and skills, provide mental health services. Many of these professionals work in teams, while others work in private practice and consult with, or refer to, other service providers.

A major component of the assessment for the Professional Certificate in Mental Health Practice requires students to undertake a number of on-line learning modules with a peer group of health professionals from different disciplines to support the development of a workplace-based Professional Development Portfolio. A number of scheduled course deliveries throughout the year will enable the placement of successful applicants within peer groups to support this important aspect of the course.

This course outlines the knowledge, skills and attitudes required when individual members of the five main mental health professions work in a mental health service (nursing, social work, occupational therapy and other allied health fields, psychology and psychiatry).

The course aims to complement each of the professional groups’ discipline-specific practice standards or competencies and address the shared knowledge and skills required when working in a multidisciplinary mental health environment through critical analysis and practical application.

1. Recognise the human rights of people with mental health problems, identify relevant mental health legislation and relate these to practice with consumers and carers.
2. Identify ethical practice in everyday practice and reflect on how ethical breaches are addressed.
3. Enhance the framework for mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention through critical analysis of strategies and the broader context.
4. Examine and reflect on consumer and carer rights and identities and identify ways to improve the opportunities for consumer and carer participation, representation and advocacy in mental health services.
5. Develop and broaden a definition of recovery which reflects an understanding of the concept as both a personal process and a paradigm for mental health care.
6. Identify and reflect on consumers’, family members’ and/or carers’ unique physical, emotional, social, cultural and spiritual dimensions and apply these to practice.
7. Develop and broaden the framework for understanding mental health across the lifespan and relate this to age-sensitive recovery processes.
8. Analyse the connection between lived experience, knowledge, and evidence-based practice and apply to mental health practice.
9. Identify the impact of factors (biological, psychological, social) on the consumer’s experience of mental illness and relate these to interventions to minimise negative and maximise positive outcomes in collaboration with consumers.
10. Identify principles and practices of collaborative care planning and apply these to practice.
11. Engage in reflective practice and self-directed professional development and reflect these learnings in practice.

These course objectives are consistent with the National Practice Standards for Mental Health Services.

The Professional Certificate in Mental Health Practice is comprised of one 25 point compulsory subject, at level 9: PSYT90091 Mental Health Practice (25 points)

Compulsory Subject

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:
• either
– an undergraduate degree or equivalent, and at least two years of professional experience in a mental health field (within the previous five years), or
– five years of documented relevant professional experience in mental health.
Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking and/or assessing applications, the Selection Committee will consider:
• prior academic qualification and performance; and/or
• the professional experience.

3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Student Application and Selection Procedure.

4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for postgraduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band 6.5 is required.

Note.
• Those applying to undertake the course are expected to be working in the field of mental health or working in organisations where mental health issues are prevalent.
• The Selection Committee will allocate successful applicants to a peer group of health professionals from different disciplines to support the development of a workplace-based Professional Development Portfolio, which is the major component of assessment. If a suitable group is not available, successful applicants will be allocated a place on the next scheduled delivery of the course.

Prior completion or current enrolment in the Mental Health Professional Online Development (MHPOD) Program whist undertaking the course.

The Melbourne Experience enables our graduates to become:

• Academically excellent:
• have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and the ethics of scholarship
• have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s)
• reach a high level of achievement in writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication
• be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning
• be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies
• Knowledgeable across disciplines:
• examine critically, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a broad range of disciplines
• expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in diverse subjects
• have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems
• have a set of flexible and transferable skills for different types of employment
• Leaders in communities:
• initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces
• have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations
• mentor future generations of learners
• engage in meaningful public discourse, with a profound awareness of community needs
• Attuned to cultural diversity:
• value different cultures
• be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they choose to live and work
• have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community
• respect indigenous knowledge, cultures and values
• Active global citizens:
• accept social and civic responsibilities
• be advocates for improving the sustainability of the environment
• have a broad global understanding, with a high regard for human rights, equity and ethics

Knowledge

Graduates of the Professional Certificate in Mental Health Practice will have:

• a body of knowledge that consolidates their understanding in evidence-informed and collaborative mental health practice, and how they relate to professional practice.
• knowledge of the wider social and cultural context applicable to mental health practice.

Skills

Graduates of the Professional Certificate in Mental Health Practice will have:

• cognitive skills to demonstrate mastery of theories and skills; and to reflect critically on the theory and professional practice of mental health.
• cognitive, technical and creative skills to investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories and to apply established theories within mental health to different bodies of knowledge or practice
• cognitive, technical and creative skills to generate and evaluate complex concepts at an abstract level

Application of knowledge and skills

Graduates of the Professional Certificate in Mental Health Practice will demonstrate the application of knowledge & skills:

• with creativity and initiative to new situations in professional practice and/or for further learning