MENTAL HEALTH LITERACY (Foundation course)

Duration: 6 hours of learning Max no of learners: 16

Target Audience Care, Support & Clinical staff in a variety of settings

Psychiatric hospitals, supported living for mental health, learning disability and autism. Housing Support Teams & Probation teams who are providing direct care and support.

Course Overview

THE AIM OF THIS COURSE IS TO LAY A FOUNDATION OF MENTAL HEALTH LITERACY FOR THOSE WHO CARE FOR PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS. THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST STEP ON THE ROAD TO MENTAL HEALTH LITERACY.

We offer ½ day or 1-day courses on each of the various mental disorder diagnoses.

This course is delivered using a range of methods and resources including:

Face to Face tutor participative facilitation (whether in the classroom or online), scenarios for group discussions, polls, question and answer time, videos and end of session assessment.

This course has been developed and mapped to current occupational standards, qualification frameworks and the following documents and resources:

  • The 201 Gov.UK document – No Health without Mental Health (created by the Department of Health)
  • Skills for Care – The Common Core Principles to support good mental health and wellbeing in adult social care
  • British Journal of Psychiatry – Mental Health Literacy

Online training: it is recommended that each learner has their own laptop/computer/tablet as the course is interactive. Having all the learners in one room is not conducive to participative/interactive learning. 2 learners can share one screen if they make sure that the facilitator can both see and hear them clearly.

Learning Outcomes

After attending this course, learners will be able to:

  1. Discuss the mental health continuum – mental health on the one end and mental illness on the other
  2. Identify the components of mental health
  3. List risk factors and protective factors for mental health
  4. Explore knowledge and beliefs about self-care as a protective factor
  5. Explore knowledge and beliefs about the types of professional help available
  6. Differentiate between stress, anxiety and depression
  7. Compare sympathy, empathy and compassion
  8. Identify helpful approaches for supporting others: active listening, empathy, having open conversations, supporting a client to practice 5 ways to wellbeing and to get social support and professional help when necessary
  9. Looking after yourself while supporting those with mental health problems – your role in supporting a client, setting healthy boundaries, looking after yourself – 5 ways to wellbeing, identifying burnout or compassion fatigue.
Time breakdownFromToMinutes
Registration09:1509:3015
Session 109:3010:4070
AM tea break10:4011:0020
Session 211:0012:4070
Lunch12:4013:2040
Session 313:2014:4070
PM tea break14:4015:0020
Session 315:0016:1070
Assessment16:1016:3020
Entry requirements – No prerequisites required
Assessment type – General T/F or multiple choice questions at the end of the course
Certification/Qualification – Downloadable certificate of attendance
All courses are accompanied by instructional materials.