Handbook

This course will review key principals underpinning mental health assessment and treatment decisions, across all the mental illness category groups and treatment settings. Key assessment approaches and skills will be explored, along with a bio-psycho-social model for treatment and management decisions.

This course will review the major psychiatric disorders, with reference to the DSM-5 and ICD-11 diagnostic classification systems. Disorder categories will include psychotic disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders and eating disorders, as well as an overview of personality and substance use disorders. The course will review common psychopharmacological treatment approaches (including antidepressant and antipsychotic medications) including considerations of the benefits and side-effects of each medication category. An overview of the benefits and side-effects of each medication category will be considered. This course will also provide students with a foundational understanding of key psychological modalities used in treatment, with emphasis on cognitive behavioural therapy, brief solution focused therapy and an overview of other psychological therapies such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and others.

On completion of this course, students will be able to complete a full, comprehensive mental health assessment, provide an initial diagnostic formulation and differential diagnosis, and develop a meaningful mental health treatment plan, with an understanding of the most appropriate treatment modality for each of the major mental health disorders.