Children’s mental health learning pathway

Understanding child mental health

This course explores mental health for children aged 0-12 years. It will help practitioners to identify the factors that support positive mental health in children, and understand how the different parts of a child’s world interact to influence their social and emotional wellbeing.

Throughout this course, learners will be invited to consider the foundational importance of a child’s relationship with their parent(s) or caregiver(s), and to reflect on the factors that can affect this relationship.

Engaging with children

This course introduces you to the concept of engaging children as partners in practice, as a foundation for responding to child mental health concerns.

Through this course, you will become familiar with the key values that underpin this concept and consider how these relate to the values and practice ethics practitioners bring to this area of their work.

Learners will also be introduced to the key shifts in position and perspective required to effectively engage children as partners in practice.

Working with First Nations families and children: A framework for understanding

This course will assist you, as a non-Aboriginal practitioner, to develop the skills and understanding to build genuine partnerships with First Nations children, families and communities.

It will also help you to understand how this will benefit and enrich you personally and professionally.

You are invited to approach this learning with curiosity, as well as a willingness to reflect on the cultural lens each of us brings to interactions with First Nations families and to consider the impact this has on engagement with those families.

The impact of trauma on the child

This course will introduce learners to key understandings about trauma and adversity, and their impact on children.

It explores the ways that a child might respond to trauma, and how children and families can recover from trauma.

It will also introduce a trauma sensitive approach to supporting children who have experienced trauma or adversity, and invite learners to reflect on how they can integrate this into their interactions with children.

Building blocks for children’s social and emotional wellbeing

In this course you will look at important concepts and ideas related to children’s mental health and development, and investigate the child’s social and emotional wellbeing within the context of their family, community, and networks.

You will explore the importance of providing guidance and support to parent-clients about their children’s social and emotional wellbeing.

You will also be introduced to principles for providing quality information and resources to parents, as well as the practical issues around working in partnership with parents to identify the most relevant and appropriate information for their situation and their context.