Mental Health Competency 3 MHA

About the Course

Substance use and its connection to mental health is a critically important topic. In Mental Health Competency 3: Substance Use Awareness, you will gain insight into some of the most commonly used types of substances, risk and  protective factors for substance use, and practical ways you can help someone find support that can lead to recovery.  Based on up-to-date statistics from governing bodies and relevant scholarly articles, this course provides a deeper  understanding of substance use disorders and various treatment options. The  instructional design is learner-focused and approachable to nearly all individuals with an interest in improving their competency in substance use awareness. NOTE: We recommend completing Mental Health Competency 1 before taking any other Mental Health Ally Series courses. 

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Course Overview

  • Estimated Course Length: 1 Hour
  • Course Includes: 3 sections with components in each section (components consist of a mixed media approach with lived experience videos, animation explainer videos and a knowledge game). 
  • Companion Videos: 10 companion videos created for enhanced learning on key course topics in Mental Health Competency 1. Over 120 mental health literacy videos on a host of mental health topics.
  • Downloadable PDFs: 6 downloadable PDFs expanding on relevant course topics
  • Target Audience: Individuals, Employers, Caregivers, Coaches, First Responders, Teachers, Attorneys, and other pertinent professionals
  • Level of Instruction: Introductory 
  • Prerequisite: None
  • Instructional Method: Self-paced, interactive, hybrid of audio, text, video, and learning checks 
  • Accessibility Accommodations: Closed captioning of all audio and video components

Learning Objectives

Course Learning Objectives:

What the learner should know upon course completion:

 

  1. Relate three substances that are commonly used, and the various risk factors that contribute to the development of substance use disorders.
  2. Summarize practical skills that can be used when responding to someone who may have a substance use disorder. The summary must cover communication skills, using the Stages of Change as a guide for how to  help most effectively, and the various treatment options and forms of support that are available.

Course Outline

  • Pre-Course Assessment
  • What Are Substance Use Disorders?
  • What is Addiction?
  • Diagnostic Criteria
  • Substances
  • Dispelling Stigma
  • Risk and Protective Factors
  • States of Change
  • Warning Signs
  • Help and Hope
  • Knowledge Check
  • Discussion Summary
  • References
  • Post-Course Assessment

Experts


Emily St. Amant, MA, LPC-MHSP

Emily served as a Clinical Manager at Psych Hub from 2019 to 2021, helping to bridge the gap between research and academia to the practical real-life application of theory and therapeutic interventions. She assisted the team throughout the content development process by reviewing and creating content to ensure it will resonate with her fellow clinicians and be beneficial to all audiences.

Currently Emily works for the American Counseling Association as Counseling Resources and Clinical Education Specialist.

Emily is a licensed professional counselor, mental health service provider. She completed her Master’s in Counseling with an emphasis in Mental Health at MidAmerica Nazarene University. She is a Tennessee counseling licensure board approved supervisor and has been designated as a mandatory pre-screening agent.

Before joining Psych Hub, she gained many years of experience in the mental health and substance abuse treatment field, much of which was spent serving as a therapist to a diverse caseload in a community mental health setting. She also has experience in crisis counseling and assessment, intake evaluations for level of care placement, outpatient and inpatient treatment, and utilization review.