Workshop title: An Introduction to Mental Health for Housing Services staff:
Workshop aim: To raise awareness and understanding of concepts of mental health and
distress, to understand and recognise the causes, ‘signs and symptoms’, treatment and
support options for the range of common and severe mental health conditions.
Workshop overview: Mental health conditions are widespread – at least one in four of us
will experience some kind of mental health difficulty in our lifetime. And yet many of us feel
that we lack knowledge and understanding of what mental health and distress actually
means, what kind of experiences are involved, what are the causes, what can be done to
overcome them and how can non specialists offer help and support.
This course will introduce front line housing staff to the essentials of mental health, taking in
the range of conditions from anxiety and depression, through to bi polar disorder,
schizophrenia and personality disorders. The course takes a practical and common sense
approach, utilising a variety of learning methods including trainer led presentations, group
discussion, small group work and practical exercises.
Pre course requirements: There are no special pre course requirements.
Name of trainer: Sarah James
Who should attend: Staff seeking an awareness and understanding of the range of mental
health conditions. The course will be of particular interest to non specialists who come into
contact with people with mental health conditions as part of their work, family or friends of
people experiencing mental health conditions who would benefit from information and
guidance, and anyone with an interest in learning more about this important topic.
What you will learn:
•
What we mean by mental health and mental distress
•
Different models of mental health – medical/ biological or psychological and social?
•
How race, culture and gender impact on our experience of mental health
•
Common versus severe mental health conditions: neurosis or psychosis?
•
The common mental health conditions: signs and symptoms, causes, treatment and
support of anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and phobias
•
The severe mental health conditions: signs and symptoms, causes, treatment and
support of bi polar disorder, schizophrenia & Personality disorder
•
Consider the most appropriate/beneficial intervention strategies
•
Keeping everyone safe
Course timings: This half day course will run from 10.00 – 1.00pm & 1.30 – 4.30 with a
short comfort break in each session.
Programme:
10.00am
Welcome, introductions, housekeeping and ground rules
10.15am
Introduction to mental health: What is positive mental health? What do we
mean by mental distress? The medical/biological model; the psychosocial
model; neurosis or psychosis? Classification of mental health conditions;
race, culture, gender and mental health.
10.45am
Common mental health conditions: Signs, symptoms, causes, treatment
and support of anxiety, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder and
depression
11.15am
Break
11.30am
Severe mental health conditions: Signs, symptoms, causes, treatment and
support of Bi Polar Disorder, Schizophrenia & personality Disorder
12.00pm
Supportive Intervention strategies, signposting, understanding the duty of
care offered to adults who maybe seen as vulnerable
12.45pm
References, resources and recommended reading. Evaluations.
1.00pm
Close