Unit Outline

Each year 1 in 5 Australians will experience a mental illness. Many people are not knowledgeable or confident to offer assistance, despite their desire to do so. This unit will teach you the skills to help someone you're concerned about – whether it be a friend, family member, patient, client, employee or colleague - and also identify and respond to your own mental health needs in a trauma-informed, evidence-based manner.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Accurately identify signs and symptoms of mental health distress
2.	Demonstrate skills in identifying and responding appropriately to mental health distress
3.	Integrate research evidence into decision-making processes regarding responses to mental health distress

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	Completion of 25 credit points at 100 level

Alterations as a result of student feedback

No alterations have been made as a result of student feedback.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Case Study	Week 7	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Skills Demonstration	Week 11	35 %	LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Self-Reflection Journal	Week 13	35 %	LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Case Study

Task Description:

Assessment task 1: Case Study
You will be provided with case studies spanning a range of contexts in which mental awareness and basic mental health response skills are required. Choose one case study and apply the model taught in this course to indicate how you would respond to a family member, friend, colleague, employee, or client. Ensure you address the following:

1. Identify signs of mental distress being exhibited by individuals in the case study
2. Apply appropriate mental health response skills to address relevant signs of mental distress
3. Demonstrate and apply knowledge of strategies to address barriers and facilitators to your approach
4. Demonstrate awareness of adequate follow up to ascertain if the manner in which you have identified and responded has been appropriate

Task Length:

Maximum 1500 words

Due Date:

Week 7

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identify signs of mental distress being exhibited by individuals in the case study	LO1
2	Apply appropriate mental health first aid response skills to address relevant signs of mental distress	LO2
3	Apply knowledge of strategies to address barriers and facilitators to your approach	LO2
4	Evaluate whether your response has been appropriate	LO3

Assessment Task 2: Skills Demonstration

Task Description:

Assessment task 2: Skills Demonstration and critique

Working with a partner and using the same scenario you addressed in your case study, you will engage your partner and demonstrate your application of the model taught in this course to your case study scenario. Your demonstration should include you providing a brief explanation of the case you have chosen, the setting for the discussion, and the nature of the relationship of the person in the role play to yourself (is the person playing a friend, employee, stranger, client etc). You will submit video of this role play as an MP4 file, along with a written critique of your performance

Task Length:

Maximum 15-minute role play with maximum 1000-word self-reflection

Due Date:

Week 11

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Skills demonstration is aligned with, and demonstrates awareness of, relevant research regarding mental health	LO3
2	Skills demonstration shows an ability to build rapport and respond appropriately to mental health distress	LO2
3	Critique demonstrates reflective capacity and accurate insight into strengths and weaknesses demonstrated in the role play	LO2
4	Skills demonstration includes application of the model taught in this course, and demonstrates accuracy in identifying mental health distress	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Self-Reflection Journal

Task Description:

You will complete four self-reflection journal entries over the course of the semester. These reflections are to be based on content covered in the unit. Reflection topics should cover content such as mental health awareness, ethical considerations of various ways of responding to mental health distress, and the role of values, culture and individual beliefs on these responses. Please note that this assessment task as a whole must meet all criteria, but no single journal entry must meet all criteria.

Task Length:

Minimum 4 journal entries; Each journal entry should be between 250-400 words.

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Reflections demonstrate an understanding of the key principles of responding to mental health distress	LO2
2	Journal entries include active reflection regarding personal experiences, thoughts, values and perspectives and how these align with existing theory and research regarding responding to mental health distress	LO3
3	Reflections consider how values, culture, and individual factors influence the experience of becoming aware of, and responding, to mental health distress	LO2
4	Journal entries demonstrate professional communication skills and actively engage with relevant peer-reviewed literature	LO2

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.