Learn about Mental Health
- Understand the nature and management of mental health
- Explore the services and techniques that are used to deal with mental health issues
- Discover opportunities to use this knowledge in a wide variety of contexts - from health services to the fitness industry and social welfare to personnel management
COURSE CONTENT
First Undertake the following two short courses -
Managing Stress and
Addiction Counselling
(Note: each of these leads to the award of a certificate of completion)
Next
Choose any nine of the following modules:
- Introduction to Psychology BPS101
- Biopsychology I BPS108
- Developmental Psychology BPS210
- Abnormal Psychology BPS307
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health BPS214
- Developmental, Learning, Behavioural Conditions in Adolescents and Children BPS215
- Managing Mental Health in Adults BPS216
- Medical Terminology BSC109
- Conflict Management BPS201
- Psychopharmacology (Drugs & Psychology) BPS302
- Anger Management BPS111
- Neuropsychology BPS306 or Biopsychology II BPS204
- Psychological Assessment BPS308
- Stress Management VPS100
- Industry (Workplace) Project
Course Duration: Approximately 940 hours of self paced study
Learn to See Every Individual as Different
Everything we experience in life has an impact upon our psychology; and that in turn also impacts our physical as well as mental wellbeing. Some individuals cope better than others with what life serves up to them.
The ability to cope is not just a matter of how significant or traumatic an experience is. It can also be a matter of the physical and/or mental state of the individual involved.
We all may have to deal with chronic and acute stressors at some stage in life. In the fight-or-flight response, we are preparing our body to fight or escape from a serious stressor. So we might run to avoid an attacker or fight an attacker. This is an acute stress. Hopefully we won’t be standing up to an attacker any time soon, but we still may experience acute stressors, such as suddenly losing your job, having an accident, a miscarriage, being mugged, losing your keys and so on. These are sudden acute stressors. They will call the fight-or-flight response to kick in.
But we will also experience chronic stressors. Losing your job will be an acute stressor when it happens, but if we then spend months without a job, having less money, being unable to do the things we used to, this can be a chronic stressor. Chronic stressors can even be relatively minor things, but over time they can build up and then coupled with other chronic stressors and acute stressors, they can stretch us to breaking point.
Imagine you are having a really bad year, you are made redundant and can’t find any new work, you are short on money and worried about paying the bills, your children are being badly behaved and not studying well, your father is ill, your house is in a bad state of repair and you are spending your time decorating. You feel permanently worried. You are coping with all these things, but the neighbour’s dog is constantly barking. Every time it barks, you feel more and more stressed until eventually you snap and shout at the dog. The dog in itself is not the major stressor, but it is the stressor that is the final straw, that pushes you over the edge.
Ideal health may happen when many different aspects of the self - physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual - are operating perfectly. In reality though, there is no such thing as perfection.
Imperfect health doesn't necessarily mean someone is suffering a mental illness though.
Mental illness is more than the mere diagnosis of a disorder. Mental disorders invariably manifest as an array of symptoms which are often obvious but sometimes quite subtle.
This course will raise your awareness of mental health, and understanding of psychological disorders. It will help you to know ways of responding to psychological challenges both small and large, and increase your capacity to make better decisions about mental health issues.
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?
- People working in health services or fitness industries, wanting to better understand how to help clients to sustain a better level of health and well being, in their mind as well as body.
- Anyone who deals with people under stress in their daily work. Being aware of how a person's mental health can be impacted by life's stresses can make the job of dealing with people much better.
