Introduction

Mental Health is one of the leading causes of ill health and disability worldwide. World Health Organisation statistics estimates that more than 450 million people are suffering from mental health disorders. In South Africa mental healthcare services have been neglected and are under-resourced, there is a lack of technical capacity and possibly a lack of concern, according to key findings of the Human Rights Commission Report on the state of mental healthcare (2019) This report followed the damning findings of the Life Esidimeni tragedy where more than 144 people died in the process of de-institutionalisation.

Learning Outcomes

On achieving this course, a learner will be able to:

• Recognise symptoms of mental illness in conducting a psychiatric interview
• Classify and diagnose mental disorders in adults and children
• Utilise information on psychiatric drugs to effectively treat mental illnesses
• Implement requirements of MHA and improve referral protocols
• Manage psychiatric emergencies in compliance with the MHA
• Introduce mental health promoting strategies

Who Should Enroll

All healthcare practitioners with an interest in mental health.

Course Design

This is an online course. Participants have 3 months from date of registration to complete the assessment component.

Course Content

The following modules are included in this short course:

• The psychiatric interview
• Symptoms and signs of psychiatric illness
• Classification in psychiatry
• Neurocognitive disorders
• Neuropsychiatric aspects of HIV/AIDS
• Schizophrenia spectrum, and other psychotic disorders
• Depressive and bipolar disorders
• Anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive and related disorders and trauma-and-stressor-related disorders
• Personality disorders
• Somatic symptoms and related disorders
• Dissociative disorders
• Disruptive, impulsive-control and conduct disorders
• Substance-related and addictive disorders
• Feeding and eating disorders
• Geriatric psychiatry
• Depressive, bipolar and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders in children
• Psychiatric emergencies
• Suicide
• Prescribing psychiatric medications
• The mental healthcare act
• Ethics in Mental Health
• Autism spectrum disorder and adolescent and child psychiatry

Assessment

Participants are assessed on the self-study component of the course through means of a multiple-choice questionnaire for which a pass mark of 70% is required.

Accreditation

Accredited according to the HPCSA’s Medical and Dental Board Guidelines for Health Care Professionals for 26 Clinical & 4 Ethical CEU’s on Level 2.

Certification

To qualify for the certificate of completion for this short course, participants should complete the self-study component and successfully pass the assessment.

Course Fee

R4 000.00 (Inclusive of all VAT and taxes where applicable)

Contact

Tel: 012 816 9000 | Fax: 086 550 3692
Email: healthscience@foundation.co.za