EPSY 639 - Community Mental Health Counseling

Units: 3
Community mental health theories and skills required by the BBS: Recovery orientation treatment for severe mental illness, disaster and trauma response, impoverished and homeless services, foster-care, case management, client advocacy, collaboration, community service resources, and medical family therapy.

Possible Instructional Methods: On-ground, or Hybrid, or Online-Asynchronous.
Grading: A-F grading only.
Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Understand the concept of “mental health recovery” models of service and treatment delivery; including treatment optimism, consumer-provider, partnerships, empowerment and self-determination, strength-based treatment.
Identify the opportunities and challenges in delivering effective mental health services in public and publically-funded settings.
Understand the role of a “licensed” therapist.
Understand the place of this position in the continuum of: peer, para-professional, social worker, MFT, LPCC, psychologist and psychiatrist.
Facilitating communication and professional, collaborative relationships with community mental health based agencies.
Addressing common problems and patterns of problematic interactions clients bring to therapy.
Integrating strategies to work with severe mental illness and recovery orientated strength based approaches.
Applying an equity, diversity, and social justice model of systemic service delivery.