Mental Health Practice

The Mental Health Practice courses at UNE are 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.  These practice standards provide practical guidelines for the knowledge, skills and attitudes required by all mental health professionals.

Recovery-oriented mental health practice acknowledges that for the mental health consumer recovery means gaining and retaining hope, understanding of one’s abilities, engagement in active life, personal autonomy, social identity, meaning and purpose in life, and a positive sense of self (National Standards for Mental Health Services, 2010, p.42).

At UNE the learning encompasses a person-centred approach to mental health, delivered in a multidisciplinary framework where partnership, collaboration and teamwork is the key to achieving a positive outcome for mental health consumers, professionals working in the mental health area, and organisations specializing in mental health-related services.

Mental Health Promotion

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About our courses

Our Courses

The Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Practice is an interdisciplinary course suitable for counsellors, psychologists, teachers, nurses, social workers, and other allied health workers. The course provides foundational training in recovery-oriented mental health practice and is completed entirely online. You can exit with this qualification, or continue on to:

Elective Units
  • HLTH426 Child and Adolescent Mental Health
  • HLTH427 Mental Health and Older Adults
  • HLTH428 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health
Why study Mental Health Practice at UNE?

The Mental Health Practice courses provide students with an opportunity to develop mental health assessment skills and evidence-based practice in a flexible learning environment. Students will have the opportunity to work independently and collaboratively with peers in a manner that is respectful of professional commitments. All courses are designed to equip graduates from a variety of health backgrounds with an ethically sound knowledge and understanding of the theory, principles, and practice of recovery-oriented mental health practice. The courses are underpinned by the bio-psychosocial model of mental health and designed to prepare competent, self-reflexive, multi-disciplinary health and human service professionals to support people experiencing mental health problems and their families.

Research

The Master of Mental Health Practice includes a capstone project unit, where students can investigate more fully an area of mental health practice of their own choosing and provides a pathway to the Doctor of Philosophy.

Careers

These are interdisciplinary awards designed to equip health professionals with the skills to support people with mental health issues and their carers. The learning will be relevant for all allied health professionals such as counsellors, psychologists, nurses, social workers, general practitioners, pharmacists and other health professionals. In some instances health professionals may be able to claim PD points or satisfy some or all of the criteria for mental health accreditation with specific professional bodies.