Who is this course for?

This course is for people who are interested in mental health and who want to learn more about it, whether for themselves or to offer more support to others.

The importance of "informal" support provided to our peers cannot be underestimated. It are often the people closest to us who notice that something is not quite right. Many, however, are cautious as they do not want to be too intrusive. It is not easy to ask the right questions. It is often a lack of confidence that result in people not providing the support a peer might need. This short and condensed program is available to everyone who wants to increase their knowledge of common mental health issues and develop confidence in talking to peers. No prior knowledge or training in the mental health field is required. The importance of peer support cannot be overestimated as it forms a crucial component in the prevention of self harm. Having good peer counselling skills is often all that is required to help a peer who feels isolated and alone, especially during current times.

Title: Short Course - mental health peer support

Presenter:   Elisabeth Scheepers, Ph.D.

Dates:    To be Determined - Please send Expressions of Interest

Costs:   95.00 (total)

Modality:   Live Zoom Webinar, small - medium group format

Content:

During the four hours of training, participants learn to identify and recognize common mental health issues. Participants become trauma informed in the sense that they will learn what psychological injury (trauma) is and how to identify common trauma symptoms. Participants will learn the counselling micro skills such as active listening, using empathy, acknowledgement, validation, summarizing and re-framing. They will be taught how to identify behaviours that require immediate specialist help and how to refer these people to the right service providers.

Participants will also learn to identify mental health issues that arise because of burnout. They will learn to use an easy-to-use tool to keep themselves mentally healthy and will receive instructions on how to use the tool with the people they support.