Program Contacts: Penny Leisring 203-582-8457 and Gina Abbott 203-582-7776
With the Mental Health Awareness Certificate students gain relevant skills and competencies in mental health. Students develop a deeper understanding of mental health issues, including the ability to distinguish between psychological responses that are within the realm of normal and those that may be more concerning. Students will explore various factors that contribute to mental health challenges as well as evidence-based treatment approaches. They will be able to recognize signs of mental health problems, respond appropriately and competently to some mental health situations, and be able to confidently search for and find available resources when needed to address these problems.
The certificate includes both academic and experiential learning components.
Students must complete either a non-credit training or a credit-bearing training. The non-credit trainings are focused on basic skills in responding to mental health issues. There are two approved trainings:
QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) Training
This training focuses on the prevention of suicide by teaching participants to recognize the warning signs of suicide, learn ways to offer hope, and know how to access help.
MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) Training
This training is a skills-based course designed to educate participants on mental health and substance use issues.
To satisfy the credit-bearing training, students may take HSC 212: Mental Health and Psychological First Aid (which contains MHFA training) or any other course that contains one of the above trainings.
To satisfy the non-credit community activity, students will participate in a community-level experience involving mental health awareness for a minimum of two hours. This activity can be in the community at large, or students can help run an event at QU. Community opportunities to fulfill this requirement will be shared with students. A student may submit an activity not on the list for approval.
To satisfy the digital story or reflective essay requirement, students will complete a project (e.g., digital story or reflective essay) reflecting on their experience and demonstrating that they have completed all the learning objectives described.
This table shows the requirements for the certificate:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required courses | 6 | |
| Introduction to Psychology | ||
| Psychopathology | ||
| Two electives with one course at the 300 level or higher | 6 | |
| Social Problems | ||
| Adult Development & Aging | ||
| Child and Adolescent Development | ||
| School Psychology | ||
| Parenting Science | ||
| Psychology of Meditation | ||
| Clinical Psychology | ||
| Child Psychopathology | ||
| Introduction to Social Work | ||
| Sociology of Health and Illness | ||
| Sociology of Mental Health | ||
| Complete either a non-credit training or a credit-bearing training | 0-1 | |
| Non-credit training requirement | 0 | |
| Credit-bearing training | ||
| Mental Health and Psychological First Aid | ||
| Required non-credit community activity | 0 | |
| Required digital story or reflective essay | 0 | |
| Total Credits | 12-13 | |