MODULE BY MODULE:

COMMUNITY CARES TRAINING EXPANDED

Module 1: Foundations of Mental Health                        

- Understanding common mental health terminology.
- How common are mental health disorders?
- What are some common symptoms and causes?
- Myths versus realities of mental health.
- Beyond Medication: What can be done to improve mental health?

Module 2: Stigma, Culture and Community Mental Health Services   

- What is stigma and how does it affect mental health?
-Tips for interacting with consumers and families.
-How have mental illness and substance use been viewed through history, and how do those impact today’s mental health client?
-These are the People in Your Neighbourhood: What services are in our region?

Module 3: Effective Situational Assessment

- Objective behavioural observation and assessment

- Self-reports, bystander and family information

- Effective recording methods 

- Mental Health Secondary Survey

- Effective communication techniques:

- Attending Skills

- Supportive Stance

- Reflective listening

- Team-based approaches: How and why.

- Section 28: When is a person a danger to self or others?

- Medical processes and language:

- Realistic expectations of the healthcare system

- The language of healthcare

- Alternatives to the ER

Module 4: Effective Engagement and Crisis Response         

- The Arousal Cycle

- Emotional arousal and rationality

- Precipitating events / rational detachment

- Applying effective interventions based on assessment

- Therapeutic communication: The importance of dignity, empathy, non-judgment & rapport

- Limit-setting and re-direction

- Physical intervention

- A last resort, least intrusive approach

- The role of the police versus the role of therapeutic professionals

- Safe practices

Module 5: Beyond Crisis Intervention: Community-based Practices for Better Care

- Building community connections:

- Neighbourhood and family supports

- Outreach services

- Landlords

- Doctors and pharmacists

- First Nations supports

- School liaison

Module 6: Team-based approaches for well-known consumers

- Proactive strategies for “repeat consumers”

- Involving the consumer in planning

- Second- and third-stage resources

- Establishing contact people for well-known consumers 

- Voluntary check-ins

Module 7: Advanced Knowledge: Substance Use and Dependency

- The impact of substances

- What is dependency? What causes it?

- Effects of common drugs on users

- Life stories of dependency and recovery 
- Detox and treatment
- Stages of Change: Facilitating change. Avoiding being a barrier.
- Examining Harm Reduction

Module 8: Common Disorders in Detail

- Psychosis and schizophrenia; 
- Depression and Bipolar Disorders;
- Dementia, Autism and more
- What is a concurrent disorder?
- Case management: What is it? Why does it work? What is your role?
- Life stories: Examining life histories and lifestyle of long term MHSU consumers