Honours Bachelor of Mental Health and Addiction (BMHA)

This is an introductory course that will explore the traditional biological and social paradigms in mental health/illness, critical health and mental health perspectives and responses, and related concepts such as mental health policy, systems and medical/psycho-social interventions. Students will also be introduced to the social determinants of mental health, and the relationship between mental health and oppression, with a particular focus on relationship of mental health to “race”, “culture” and sexual/gender identity. The course will also focus on contemporary community mental health concepts in Canada, specifically Ontario.

The course will introduce students to anti-oppressive theory and practice as it relates to mental health, well-being, and resilience when working across diverse settings. The correlation between health and social inequalities will be examined in the context of marginalized populations.  Students will have an opportunity to engage in critical and reflective practice as it relates to one’s personal values, beliefs and behaviors across diverse settings.

Focusing on the theoretical perspective of the social determinants of health, students will learn about the impact on health and wellness of income security/insecurity and precarious employment on individual and community health as well as the health implications of income and employment security across the lifespan. Students will explore and research the relationship between income, income distribution and health in Canada. In addition, students will study and learn to improve the health of work and working conditions. Students will learn about current policy and legislative responses and programs available to support communities.

Students are introduced to the foundational skills required for effective communication and interviewing in a counselling relationship. Topics include counselling as a developmental process; the importance of self-awareness; the role of the counselling relationship in affecting change; the importance of empathy; and the appreciation of ethics, diversity and personal and professional development. The course examines the nature and process of client-centred counselling and teaches foundational skills with opportunities for practice in a supervised setting.

This is a full online course that introduces students to Indigenous peoples health issues through an examination of the socio-political history of Canada as determined by the Indigenous peoples research and voice. Students will learn about the various legislative legacies and political relationships that affect health and social welfare, particularly addictions and mental health challenges. This course will provide an overview of First Nations, Metis and Inuit health issues as well as various health, wellness and resilience practices of Indigenous peoples.

Focusing on the theoretical perspective of the social determinants of health, students will learn about the impact on wellness of food security, living conditions and housing security on individual and community health as well as the health implications of food and housing security across the lifespan. Students will learn about current policy and legislative responses and programs available to support communities in order to be able to provide effective support/interventions on an individual and community level to support and promote food and housing security as a means of improving and sustaining health.

Mental health and addiction practitioners often facilitate various types of groups in different environments. In this course students learn and practice the basic elements of group process including group norms, skills of leadership and member roles, stages of group development, coherence and dissonance and ethical considerations. Focus is given to group methods in mental health and addictions practice. Students will practice leading and reflecting on the group process.

This course examines the basic tenets and therapeutic processes that characterize various theoretical approaches to counselling.  The models are clustered according to major forces in psychology:  Psychodynamic (Psychoanalytic, Adlerian); Behavioural and Cognitive-Behavioural (Behavioural, Cognitive-Behavioural, Reality); Humanistic (Existential, Person-Centred, Gestalt); and Contextual/Systemic (Feminist, Family Systems, Multicultural).  Emphasis is placed on critical analysis of the various approaches as well as self-reflection in relation to values, beliefs, and assumptions about human nature and worldview.

This course will give students the opportunity to explore several diverse theories of family dynamics. Students will gain skills in identifying the cultural and historical lens of each theory, along with the inherent assumptions of family trends. A sound knowledge of family research and theory application will give students some of the tools necessary to come closer to understanding families and to recognize their role in positive change where needed in family life.

In this course, students will learn about theories and methods of crisis intervention.  To gain practice in supporting individuals and communities, students will have opportunities to learn techniques and skills to manage and deescalate mental health/addiction crisis situations. Students will examine precipitating factors that may lead to a crisis, patterns of the conflict cycle and deescalating techniques. 

This course provides students with a context to develop trauma informed practice in mental health. In this course, students overview the nature of trauma and examine the concepts of trauma in personal, practical and theoretical contexts. Students investigate the difference between stress and trauma and are able to explain conditions leading to possible trauma. In addition, students will acquire a basic understanding of how trauma might affect brain development and how that may impact on child and adolescent development. Throughout the course, students will be learning and practicing strategies and self-care activities from an anti-oppressive approach.

It is important to allow individuals to exercise a range of human rights ? both civil and political (e.g. physical integrity, personal security, political participation), social and economic (e.g. employment, education and family life). Just as important, health is necessary for well-functioning societies. If a population does not have a decent level of health, it is very difficult to ensure economic prosperity, political participation, and collective security. This course will focus on the practice of community health to promote and ensure the conditions that allow all individuals the means to achieve health capabilities.  Building on the social determinants of health and illness students will further their analysis and critique of justice issues related to health and illness.  The primary focus of this course will be the Canadian context with International themes and covenants.

Service providers are increasingly seeing more people who experience both issues of addictions and mental health issues or diagnoses termed concurrent disorders.  This course provides students with an opportunity to understand the interconnections between addictions and mental health problems, the unique features of each and the complexity concurrent disorders present for intervention, support, and treatment in the community. From a bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework, students explore current practices, intervention skills, and best practice guidelines for supporting concurrent disorders in the community.

Students will build on their understanding of mental health/addictions and apply this learning to health and wellness models and approaches. Models for wellness counselling will be explored such as the change model, behavioural learning models and social cognitive theory. Complementary and alternative therapies will be explored such as contemplative interventions, music, recreation, animals, recreation and the influence of the environment. Psychological wellbeing and spirituality as an area of practice will be explored as concepts of health and wellness.

The course will focus on how and why health and mental health social policies are developed, presented and implemented in the Canadian context. Current literature and legislation will be examined. Students will engage in mental health-related policy analysis and examine policy discourses for implications for community practice.

In this course, students will learn the best practices of case management and coordination to effectively support client-driven outcomes among service users. Students will be introduced to the role and responsibilities of case management using the empowerment framework while taking in consideration specialized skills for working with complex issues reflective of Canada’s broad population groups. Ethical, legal, and cultural considerations will be explored through application of practical case management skills such as service coordination, conflict de-escalation, advocacy, and documentation. Students will also have the ability to explore macro level issues through discussion of current policies and its’ impact on marginalized populations.

This work term will provide students with a college-approved work experience in the areas of community health and wellness, emotional and mental health of individuals, families and communities and/or the protection and promotion of the health of individuals and communities. In this course, students will apply Skills learned in the academic setting as well as gain new workplace skills. Students will interact with industry professionals while developing and expanding their critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills in a professional work environment. Through the work experience, students will gain an understanding of workplace accountabilities for their role, the role of team members and leaders in the workplace. The work experience will also provide the student with a variety of situations and opportunities to further develop their listening and communication skills, both oral and written, as pertinent to the job function and industry requirements.

The practice of nurturing hope and the opportunities and conditions for recovery are critical dimensions of community mental health practice. As a philosophy of hope and resilience, this course will expose the student to recovery theory, practice, and empirical evidence. This course will highlight both academic as well as the lived experience as evidence for recovery and resilience. The role of resilience in personal recovery as well as for community health will be the primary focus.

Everyone experiences mental and emotional distress over a lifetime, and many of us experience extremes of mental and emotional states that can be characterized as mental illness or distress; this continuum will be explored in this course from the perspective of lived experience and knowledge. Canadian Mad Studies, based on the work of the psychiatric consumer/survivor movement, is an emerging field informing mental health policy and practice and challenges dominant understandings of “mental illness” as a lifelong, chronic and disabling medical condition. In this course, students will study the Mad movement’s contributions to the advancing of the field of mental health, as well as the connections to other human rights movements.

This course will focus practitioner training in the theories and principles of ethics in health care. This course examines ethical issues arising in the delivery of health care at the micro level of practitioner/service user (such as confidentiality, informed consent) and at the broader social level (justice and resource allocation, new technologies, professionalization and power). Ethical and legal issues related to the allied professions found in the multidisciplinary community mental health service sector will be explored, such as community nursing and social work ethics.

This course explores mental health by examining current issues as they relate to wellbeing.  Building on the social determinants of health framework, we examine the current context of service delivery in Canada taking into account the rapidly changing demographics in different communities and discussing contemporary issues facing service providers. Students will examine effective and promising practices in improving community mental health.

The purpose of the independent study is to permit students to extend beyond current course offerings and explore in detail a subject area of their choosing related to the study of Community Mental Health and Addictions. Students work closely with the Course Director to research their topic of interest through field research, library research, and writing a final report on findings, including a philosophy of practice. They are also required to attend some classes/workshops throughout the term and to present their final report.