Understanding Mental Health PG (11748.1)

Please note these are the 2023 details for this unit
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Understanding Mental Health PG
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods Online self-paced
 UC - Canberra, Online
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Health
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Discipline Of Counselling Post Graduate Level Band 2 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
Band 2 2021 (Prof Pathway Social Work- After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
The focus of this unit is mental health assessment and the determination of appropriate clinical interventions for people who are affected by the symptoms of mental illness, including consumers and their significant others. This is framed within the context of person-centred care, factors affecting mental health, and the impact of these symptoms upon consumers and significant others. Students will also appraise the interventions and supports that are available to assist those who are affected by the symptoms of mental illness, and develop the skills to apply this knowledge in practice.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate appropriate application of a range of interventions and approaches to assist those affected by mental illness;
2. Analyse the mental health diagnostic systems and terminology in a counselling context; and
3. Critically reflect on the role of a counsellor in the mental health system.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries


Prerequisites

11747 Placement B OR
11989 Professional Placement (Part B) PG

Corequisites

This unit is only available to students enrolled in SCM401 Master of Counselling

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

8565 Mental Health Assessment and Intervention PG

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 1 20 January 2025 Online self-paced Ms Zena Clarke
2025 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 4 07 July 2025 Online self-paced Ms Kate Stuart
2026 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 1 19 January 2026 Online self-paced Ms Zena Clarke
2026 UC - Canberra, Online Study Block 4 06 July 2026 Online self-paced Mrs Aga Wlodarczyk
Not available

Required texts

Hungerford, C., Hodgson, D.Clancy,R. Murphy,K. Doyle,K.  (2021) Mental Health Care (4th Ed.) Wiley 

Patterson, J. Griffith, J.J.Edwards, T.M. (2021) The Therapist's Guide to Psychopharmacology (3ed.) Guilford Press 

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

It is the student's responsibility to upload the correct and corresponding draft or assessment item to the right submission section. Assignments must be submitted in a format accessible to the assessor(s), as stated on the relevant canvas site. If the unit convener and/or tutor are unable to access a submission, a standard late penalty of 10% of the total marks possible for the task may be applied per day until the assignment is made accessible. 

Should the unit convenor approve an extension request, it is highly unorthodox that extensions will be granted for more than 5 days. (RAP students included) It is important to realise that if an extension is approved and the assessment is submitted late, this will delay the marking process. This can result in an inability to commence following units and hinder your progress through your course. 

Please note a blanket extension request for all assessment in this unit is not acceptable. 

Assignments are graded. In order to pass this unit, all assignments must be submitted and an overall  mark of 50% or more must be reached.

Please note resubmissions are not avaiable in this unit. 

Special assessment requirements

Please note that GenAI is not authorised to be used for assessment preparation for this unit.
GenAI may be used for assessment preparation by students at UC when:
• authorised by the unit convener (or HDR supervisor) as part of a specified assessment task
• used in the way allowed in the assessment instructions and unit outline
• appropriately referenced, meaning that students must acknowledge the use of GenAI in their assessments in the same way that they must acknowledge all source material.
Any other use of GenAI to complete an assessment is a breach of academic integrity and could constitute academic misconduct. Unauthorised use of GenAI in assessment work is contract cheating, as defined in University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. It's also possible for unauthorised or inappropriate use of AI in student assessments to present as plagiarism, reproduction of another's work, collusion, dishonesty in connection with an assessment, or non-compliance with assessment-related instructions – all of which are academic integrity breaches.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Participation requirements

Attendance at tutorials is essential in this course. Students will be able to attain and demonstrate the required learning outcomes in their assessments if they attend and fully participate in the tutorials. Recordings will be made available for those who are unable to attend the tutorial sessions, however, sections of the video may be removed from the recording if sensitive information have been disclosed. Experience from past years indicates that students who do not participate in tutorials have a risk of failing the unit.

Required IT skills

To engage in this unit, you are expected to have a reliable computer with the latest operating system. You will also need reliable internet connections and the latest version of Google Chrome (preferred browser) to access UCLearn. You are expected to have access to Microsoft Office applications: including Word, Excel and PowerPoint equivalent. In some units, you will be required to download specific software applications to complete the unit content and assessment successfully. 

In order to complete research, you will need to be able to search the library data bases for relevant journal articles. It is the individual student's responsibility to access appropriate help from the University IT services or the library if they do not have adequate skills. 

In-unit costs

For more information regarding fees, please speak to your Student Advisor. 

Work placement, internships or practicums

None