Academic titleGraduate Diploma in Mental Health Science (Young People's Mental Health)
Course description The course is directed toward those who wish to acquire the skills necessary to remain at the forefront of preventive psychiatry in young people's mental health during the onset phase of serious mental illness, both within Australia and internationally. Spanning the 'youth' developmental phase from 14 to 25 years, the course actively integrates a developmental perspective with an emphasis on early detection, intensive intervention and secondary prevention across a range of serious mental illnesses including early psychosis, eating disorders, and depression.
Objectives:
By the conclusion of the graduate diploma students will have developed the following areas of knowledge:
* The major theories of development spanning the transition from adolescence to adulthood
* Recent advances in the preventative models of psychiatry as applicable to young people
* Recent advances in the biological assessment and treatment of serious mental illness in young people
* Optimal organisation and management approaches for the provision of services to young clients with serious mental illness
In addition, students will be able to apply the following skills in working with young people:
* Design community awareness interventions focusing upon early detection and referral of young people to mental health services
* Assess the early signs of a range of serious mental illnesses in young people
* Design comprehensive treatment plans which are applicable to the early stages of serious mental illness and sensitive to the developmental tasks facing young clients of mental health services
* Apply psychosocial interventions in the treatment of primary and secondary morbidity across a range of serious mental illessesses affecting young people and their families
* Match optimal approaches to the treatment of young people to impatient, community-based and home-based approaches
Course Structure & Available Subjects:
Students must successfully complete all eight core subjects to obtain the Graduate Diploma.