Advanced Certificate in Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Summary

The Advanced Certificate in Child and Adolescent Mental Health offers an extensive exploration of mental health concerns in young individuals. This course covers a broad spectrum of issues, including childhood depression, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders, providing a deeper insight into these prevalent conditions. You’ll gain an understanding of the developmental stages of infants and children, focusing on their social, cognitive, and emotional growth, language development, and learning styles.

The course also addresses developmental disorders, with a particular emphasis on pervasive developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and Rett’s disorder. This program is an excellent choice for those looking to expand their expertise in supporting the mental health of children and adolescents.

Course Outline

Students will undertake seven key modules, made up of 69 lessons.

Module 1: Child and Adolescent Mental Health (100 hours)

In this module, you will learn about mental health problems in childhood, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, tic disorders and problems associated with brain disease or injury, environmental factors, abuse and neglect. As an introductory module, it provides a solid foundation to the scope of common child and adolescent mental health disorders and how to identify them.

Module 2: Child Psychology (100 hours)

This module aims to deliver an introduction into child psychology, where you will discover how infants and children develop (socially, cognitively, sexually, morally), how they acquire language, and different types of learning. You will hone your critical thinking skills, learn how to make observations of behaviour seen in children, and develop ways to analyse information to encourage you to approach scenarios from a different perspective.

This module will cover a range of topics; from discovering how parenting styles can influence childhood behaviour, to what age you can expect children to start speaking, to learning how much of a child’s behaviour is due to genetics and understanding how children learn in different ways.

Module 3: Anger Management (100 hours)

This module is designed with the aim to help you understand the nature and scope of anger in children and techniques (including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy), to help manage and provide support when required.

You will discover that anger management is not about removing all anger, but instead learn how to help children channel their anger into positive aspects and away from the negative aspects, so it can be productive rather than destructive.

Module 4: Developmental, Learning and Behavioural Conditions (100 hours)

In this foundation introductory module, you will learn about developmental disorders, including pervasive developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (which now includes Asperger’s syndrome) as well as Rett’s disorder and childhood disintegrative disorder. The module aims to help you identify the different signs and symptoms, treatments and possible causes of each, the implications of a developmental disorder later in life and how important it is to respond to the signs and symptoms as early as possible.

You will also learn about behavioural disorders, such as different types of attention and hyperactivity disorders, along with conduct disorders like oppositional defiant disorder. The module also explores learning disorders, which are specific developmental disorders, such as reading disorders.

Module 5: Adolescent Psychology (100 Hours)

This is a comprehensive segment of the course, focusing on the multifaceted aspects of adolescent development. This module provides an in-depth look at the various life crises adolescents face, alongside their physical, intellectual, emotional, and sexual development. It also covers key areas such as social and moral development, delinquency and crime, and the critical transition of adolescents into adulthood. As an essential part of the course, it lays a solid foundation for understanding the complexities of adolescent psychology, equipping you with the knowledge to identify and address the unique challenges faced by adolescents.

Module 6: Play Therapy (100 Hours)

This module covers a wide range of applications, from addressing anxiety and depressive disorders to behavioural and developmental disorders in children. It also examines the role of play therapy in resolving social and family problems, its surprising applications in adult populations, and its integration with other specialized creative therapies. Additionally, the module delves into the use of play in rehabilitation, providing a comprehensive understanding of how play therapy can be a versatile and effective tool in mental health treatment across different age groups and conditions.

Module 7: Developmental Psychology (100 Hours)

The Developmental Psychology module provides an extensive exploration of human development from early childhood through to late adulthood. It begins with theoretical approaches and key concepts, laying a foundation for understanding the subsequent stages of development. It covers cognitive and social development in the first six years of life, moving into the challenges and growth experienced during middle childhood and adolescence. It then examines the cognitive and psychosocial development in early and middle adulthood, along with the unique challenges faced during these stages. Finally, it delves into the cognitive and psychological changes in older people, providing a comprehensive understanding of the developmental challenges and transitions experienced throughout the entire lifespan.

For the full subject list and course guide, fill out our Enquiry Form and our course consultants will be in touch.

Assessment

Assessments are an important part of your study journey as they help ensure you stay on track and meet the learning objectives of each lesson before moving onto the next. They also help your student support advisor and mentors identify where any further support may be required, so that you get the most out of your course. You will learn via various methods; a combination of reading, undertaking research and watching videos. Assessments might include case studies, quizzes, and written assessments.

Approval & Recognition

The Learning Group is an approved and recognised member of IARC. The IARC is an International association which recognises quality and excellence in education providers in tertiary education.

Who will this course interest?

This course is a beginner-level course and will lay a sound foundation of knowledge and skills which can grow with experience and further study. Knowledge of child psychology is most relevant to careers in psychology, counselling and teaching. However, professionals in many other fields benefit from a deeper understanding of childhood development.

This course may be of interest to people working, or aspiring to work in or as:

› Youth Work
› Child and Adolescent Counselling
› School Counselling
› Teaching
› Child Psychology
› Youth Coaching
› Social Work
› Children’s Services

If you have a specific job in mind, it is important that you research exactly what is required before enrolling in a course. Different roles will require different skills, qualifications and recognition. If you are unsure, one of our course advisors will be able to help you with this.

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