Mental Health and Mental Wellbeing

Course aim

To analyse the particular contribution of social work to mental health and wellbeing in the community.

Course content

The student will develop knowledge of the historical and current socio political context of mental wellbeing and mental illness in rural and urban Australia ( eg the National Mental Health Strategy), the tools of the system of mental illnesses (eg DSM4, Mental Health Act, Office of the Public Advocate, Guardianship Board, Public Trustee) and the theoretical and value base of social work in mental health (empowerment, social justice, human rights, access and equity, power and diversity). The student will analyse the distinction between mental health and mental illness, mental health interventions including primary health care and recovery paradigm in mental health practice, the concepts of resilience, lived experiences of consumers, the social work purpose, practice and roles (eg social action and policy analysis advocate and broker), practice in multidisciplinary context and community capacity in mental health (risk factors-eg. stigma and protective factors eg community education).

Textbook(s)

Bland, R, Renouf, N & Tullgren 2009, Social work practice in mental health: an introduction, Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest

Prerequisite(s)

The listed prerequisite or approval of the Course Coordinator.

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Case study, Learning log/Journal

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 2)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
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Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
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Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.