Mental Health and Addictions Worker Program

Students will become acquainted with the subject matter, concepts, and approaches in sociology. The topics covered include sociological theory, sociological research methods and processes, culture, socialization, social stratification and social inequality, deviance and social control, and social change and social movements. Throughout this course, students will recognize and clarify their viewpoints and feelings towards current social problems from these areas, and come to understand how their perceptions of these problems affect them.

This course will describe the physical, cognitive, social, and personality changes throughout the lifespan. Including pregnancy, birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and the end of life. Students will be introduced to some of the major theories in developmental psychology from a lifespan perspective.

This course offers an introduction to basic concepts related to mental health and mental illness, utilizing a lifespan development perspective. The notion of abnormality is examined in addition to introducing how abnormal behaviour is defined, assessed, and classified. Students are introduced to necessary vocabulary for the understanding of psychiatric reports and other medical information.

This course provides an introduction to the history of substance use, including its social and economic context. The course outlines various theories of substance use from their origins to present day, highlighting the cultural and societal influences that impact use patterns. This course examines the most prevalent drugs, the common myths surrounding addiction, and the current state of drug policy in Canada. An overview of substance abuse screening and assessment, treatment settings and approaches, and concurrent disorders is considered.

This course is an introduction to the principals, methods, and purposes of intentional interviewing as applied to human service counselling. Students will learn how to achieve a helping relationship while practising observational and listening skills and will learn how to influence and structure an effective interview.

This first-level post-secondary course will help students in all programs develop their ability to communicate effectively in academic and vocational settings. The course requires students to meet first-year benchmarks for generic skills in researching, organizing, re-framing, analyzing, writing, and presenting information.

This course is designed to help students reflect on Indigenous peoples’ experiences of historical and present-day colonization. Students will journey through cultural safety practices, identify racism and articulate ways of reconciliation. Students will discuss the overall health and well-being of Indigenous people and learn about Indigenous worldviews and wellness practices. Throughout the course, students will explore Indigenous history and contemporary issues in the twenty-first century.

This course is intended to enhance students’ awareness and understanding of mental illness, addiction, and their co-occurrence. The structure and function of the mental health and addiction treatment systems are reviewed and challenges to effective service delivery are examined. Ethics of practice and the principles and strategies of trauma-informed practice and motivational interviewing are explored.

This course provides an introduction to mental health and substance use issues among children and young people. The aetiology and presentation of a range of mental disorders is examined. Screening and assessment processes, and a range of interventions are explored.

This course offers an exploration of mental health and substance use issues with older persons. Students will learn how mental health disorders and substance use present in the elderly. Disorders associated with aging, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, will be examined in addition to end-of-life care options. Best practices for working effectively with this unique population will be explored. Students will receive training in Gentle Persuasive Approach (GPA).

This course utilizes experiential learning to focus on the purposes, principles, and methods of effective interviewing as applied to children, adolescents, adults and older adults. A solution-focused approach is introduced and practised. (MHAW students will also be introduced to Motivational Interviewing towards Substance Abuse Counselling and practice.

This course offers an introduction to the dynamics and skills needed to work with different types of groups. Leadership responsibilities, group preparation, group development, and awareness of self as member/leader will be considered. As well, students will have an opportunity to design a group project and participate in various group exercises.

This course presents an overview of the Canadian legal system with a particular emphasis on legislation directly impacting clients of health and human service providers.

Students in this course will write, respond to the writing of peers and published writers, and present their writing in oral and written forms. By providing an atmosphere in which writing is valued, by initiating writing exercises, by focusing attention on storytelling strategies that elicit responses, and by requiring students to actively participate in writing within constrained timelines, this course will create frameworks which will facilitate students’ creative writing.

In this course, learners will apply the model of effective communication developed in earlier communications courses, will demonstrate the basics of informal report writing, and will focus on the organization of routine, informal situations so that they can communicate effectively in a vocational setting.

This course assists students to develop their skills and learn theories associated with trauma-informed practice, crisis intervention, and relapse prevention. Students review evidence-based practices for suicide risk assessment and intervention, and strategies for relapse prevention are examined.

This course prepares the student for attending a field placement. The main focus of the course includes: incorporating best practices that support experiential learning within an interprofessional environment, expectations of professional practice, and understanding placement policies and procedures to maintain a successful field placement.

This course introduces students to the basic pharmacology of mental health and addictions. Study includes: basic neurobiology, the physiological base of mental disorders, including substance use disorders, the principles of pharmacokinetics, and major drug classification of drugs of abuse and psychotropic medication. Students apply theoretical knowledge to analyze several diagnostic categories of the DSM-5, including but not limited to substance-related disorders, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and psychotic disorders.

This course introduces basic concepts, methods and procedures related to cognitive behavioural therapy. Students will have the opportunity to practice and apply these skills through introduction to various evidence-based techniques lab skills demonstration/simulation and case study analysis.

This course will equip students with an understanding and appreciation of the relevance of research techniques and findings to their work with clients in the human services field. Students will learn how to conduct and evaluate research, as well as how to use this understanding to support research-based practice and assess social interventions.

In this course, an in-depth examination of a range of mental illnesses and their co-occurrence with addiction is undertaken. The socioeconomic and psychological impact of mental illness, addiction, and concurrent disorders on clients is explored. Best practices are reviewed and students learn how to screen and assess clients for the presence of concurrent disorders. Culturally-safe treatment and recovery-planning and evidence-based interventions are examined.

This course will be a general education course that is currently still being determined and will be announced at a later date.

In this course, students will formulate an emerging philosophy of practice, including their personal and professional goals, expectations of professional practice, and an ethical understanding of relevant field placement topics and issues. The foremost focus within the course is on critical reflection, self-awareness, and collaborative practice at field placement. A guided supportive group process will provide students with the environment to discuss and reflect upon direct practice issues. Extending the learning first introduced in MHA 294, an emerging understanding of placement policies and procedures will be revisited and further clarified. In addition, a competitive resume, cover letter, job search strategies, and job interview strategies will yield constructive feedback to assist students in finding meaningful employment

This course provides students an experiential opportunity to practice emerging skills, knowledge, attitudes, and actions required to be an effective helping professional. Students complete a field placement in a variety of helping and health settings with community agencies. The application of classroom theory and supervision in an interdisciplinary agency setting assists students in their preparation to pursue a career in this challenging and rewarding field.