Graduate Diploma of Mental Health
Southern Cross University
About
Turn your passion for mental health into a career move with this completely online course, designed specifically for allied health and social care professionals who wish to increase their specialist knowledge and employment outcomes in mental health.This new course responds to contemporary mental health research and policy and has been designed with the input of leading clinical and academic mental health professionals.Undertaking this course will enhance your clinical capabilities and theoretical knowledge of both current and future mental health practice, for the benefit of mental health consumers, your professional discipline and yourself.Graduates may be eligible for up to eight units of credit towards the Master of Mental Health or the Master of Mental Health Nursing at Southern Cross University.Please note:
this course can be completed in 16 months of accelerated part-time study.
Entry requirements
A Bachelor degree or equivalent in a health, psychology or social science related discipline; OR
A Bachelor degree or equivalent, with evidence of extensive experience in the mental health field, deemed as equivalent to a cognate degree.
To be eligible to receive the Graduate Diploma of Mental Health, students must complete the equivalent of 8 units (96 credit points) comprising all 8 core units.
Exit Awards
Students may be eligible to exit with the Graduate Certificate in Mental Health after completing the equivalent of 4 units (48 credit points) comprising any 4 core units.
Learning outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a course. These outcomes are aligned with the <a href="/staff/teaching-and-learning/graduate-attributes/">graduate attributes</a>.
| Graduate Attribute | Course Learning Outcome |
|---|---|
| Intellectual rigour | Critically evaluates and integrates models of treatment relevant to the care continuum, to inform co-constructed personalized care strategies which meet the consumer’s life needs as well as health needs.Generates/translates novel information or theories, making a substantial contribution to the discipline through scholarly activities. |
| Creativity | Engages creatively in therapeutic relationships with mental health consumers their families and significant others, which are characterized by co-construction of care and collaborative engagement.Critically appraises the nature and extent of influences (social, political, economic and organizational) to overcome constraints in negotiation of options for clinical interventions. |
| Ethical practice | Advocates for mental health consumers, challenging discrimination and public discourse, minimising stigma through the use of positive portrayal and working toward social inclusion and independence.Interrogates and challenges the concepts of risk and safety from the basis of consumer centred care considering social protection, legal, moral and ethical principles to balance risk in recovery. |
| Knowledge of a discipline | Exercises expert/enhanced clinical judgement and decision-making and insight in novel situations in specialist mental health disciplines in pursuit of optimal consumer outcomes.Negotiates and executes the role of chosen mental health discipline in a multidisciplinary and multi-professional approach. |
| Lifelong learning | Consistently demonstrates a high level of autonomy, accountability, adaptability and responsibility in self-directed work and learning.Engages in and leads others in collaborative critical reflection on clinical practice and achievement of lifelong learning outcomes. |
| Communication and social skills | Develops and maintains partnerships in care (individually and with groups) with mental health consumers and their families which focuses on the recipient of care, the person’s right to choice and self-determination, and the person’s inherent capacity for recovery.Consistently and judiciously uses information technology, compelling and authoritative written and verbal communications. |
| Cultural competence | Respects individual worldviews and enhances their own critical thinking to lead others in challenging assumptions underpinning worldviews.Adjusts clinical practices to incorporate consumer’s cultural perspectives into mental health planning and interventions. |
Institution
