Mental Health & Wellbeing Practitioner: Specialist Adult Mental Health University Advanced Certificate
How should we support adults experiencing severe and enduring mental ill-health? Train as a mental health and wellbeing practitioner and learn how to deliver psychologically informed, low-intensity interventions as part of an innovative programme to transform mental health services.
Overview
| Course length: | 1 year part-time |
|---|---|
| Start dates: | September 2024 January 2025 September 2025 |
| Location: | Edge Hill University and Online study |
| Subject(s): | Mental Health |
| Faculty: | Health, Social Care and Medicine |
| Department: | Allied Health, Social Work and Wellbeing |
Join us to study severe mental health problems and examine ways to build relationships with service users and their families and carers to identify needs and collaborate over care decisions.
You’ll prepare for a rewarding career in a new role that forms part of the transformation of mental health services. We’ll teach you all the skills you need as a mental health and wellbeing practitioner (MHWP) to support adults of all ages.
Learn alongside other adult service practitioners and therapists over 12 months. You’ll be part of a local mental health service, playing a core part of an existing team in the community.
During our University Advanced Certificate Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner: Specialist Adult Mental Health course, you’ll discover how to engage and assess adults with severe mental health problems so you can develop effective care plans. Then you’ll collaborate with service users and their carers and families to deliver low-intensity, psychologically-informed interventions and make sure they have appropriate support.
Our combination of online study, in-person clinical skills training and practice-based learning align with the work-based component of NHS England’s mental health and wellbeing training programme.
Please note, this course is also available as a Postgraduate Certificate for which different entry criteria apply.
What you'll study
Across three modules, you’ll gain deep insights into the specialist field of community-based adult mental health. From this, you’ll develop the knowledge and expertise needed to positively impact community mental health as the area grows and evolves.
Developing the skills to locate and deploy resources in the community will be key. You’ll support service users and their carers and families to access services from psychological therapies to self-harm and substance abuse support. At the same time, you’ll learn how to protect your mental wellbeing, make risk assessments and work in a multi-disciplinary team as a wellbeing practitioner.
You’ll learn how to deliver wellbeing-focused, psychologically informed interventions based on the best evidence available. These interventions will address common difficulties experienced by people with severe mental health problems by supporting connectedness, hope, identity, meaning and empowerment.
How you'll study
The course adopts a blended model of online study, in-person clinical skills training and practice-based learning. This blended approach, which may be subject to adjustment in line with service delivery needs, enables you to learn from observation and skills practice under supervision, while also working in fully functioning adult community mental health/integrated primary care services. There are additional benefits from the flexibility of remote learning.
An initial two-day induction will be followed by one to two days per week of remote learning sessions including keynote lectures and interactive learning. There will be three blocks of in-person learning in clinical skills, which you can attend at Edge Hill University or an alternative venue in the East of England. The remaining time will be spent in the workplace engaging in practice-based learning.
It is expected that trainees will complete a minimum of 80 hours of clinical practice working with patients in an adult community mental health service. This will include 40 hours delivering psychologically informed interventions. You will also receive a minimum of 40 hours supervision. This will include 20 hours of case management and 20 hours of clinical skills in practice.
How you'll be assessed
You will be assessed through a combination of assignments, report writing and simulated assessments. This will include video recordings, a reflective portfolio, and more traditional written assignments. We will test your ability to organise, structure and manage information and develop concepts and arguments.
A 50% minimum pass rate applies to all elements of assessment on this course.
Who will be teaching you
Several members of the course team have practical experience working in the mental health sector, such as health visitors, mental health nurses, family therapists, social workers, psychologists, counsellors and psychotherapists, all of whom will have dealt with the long-term consequences of mental health issues not being addressed at an early age.
You will be taught by academic experts with a diverse portfolio of research and teaching and learning experience across a variety of disciplines. Areas of interest include health and social care, public health, health commissioning, and workforce transformation, as well as other relevant disciplines such as sociology, psychology, criminal justice, law, ethics, and counselling and psychotherapy.
There will also be opportunities to learn from associate tutors and visiting lecturers who have their own experiences, knowledge and skills to share from working with vulnerable individuals.
Entry criteria
Entry requirements
Typical offer 104-112 UCAS Tariff points, for which no specific subjects are required, as well as at least five GCSEs at Grade C or Grade 4 or above (or equivalent), including GCSE English Language. We will also consider equivalent professional experience, or recognition of prior learning, and assess this on an individual basis.
You will also need to demonstrate the intrapersonal skills and values consistent with providing hopeful, person-centred care and show a commitment to working with people with complex mental health needs.
An interview forms part of the selection process.
If you accept a formal offer from Edge Hill University you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced Disclosure indicating that you meet the mandatory criteria of ‘Clearance to Work with Children and/or Vulnerable Adults’. This will be requested and checked by your NHS trust employer rather than the University.
Please note, the above examples may differ from actual offers made. A combination of A Level and BTEC awards may also be accepted.
If you have a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent), there is no maximum number of qualifications that we will accept UCAS points from. This includes additional qualifications such as Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), AS Levels that haven't been continued to A Level, and General Studies AS or A Level awards.
How to apply
Apply part-time
Apply online through NHS Jobs.
We recommend interested applicants create an account with NHS Jobs and set up an email alert to search 'mental health and wellbeing practitioner'. You will then be made aware when posts go out to advert.
Successful candidates will be employed by a specific NHS trust and released to train at Edge Hill University.
Should you accept an offer of a place to study with us and formally enrol as a student, you will be subject to the provisions of the regulations, rules, codes, conditions and policies which apply to our students. These are available at www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentterms.
If you join a full time undergraduate degree at Edge Hill University, we will guarantee you the offer of a room in our halls of residence for the first year of your course.
Discover our accommodation
Facilities
The Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine offers outstanding facilities for the education and training of health and social care professionals.
The contemporary teaching and learning resources include leading edge clinical skills facilities, an 860-seat lecture theatre, and a variety of teaching rooms and social learning spaces.
Where you'll study
Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre
Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine
Learning resources
The Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine offers some of the best facilities for the education and training of health and social care professionals in the country.
The outstanding teaching and learning resources include leading edge clinical skills facilities, an 860-seat lecture theatre, and a variety of teaching rooms and social learning spaces.
Finance
Tuition fees
UK Full-Time
£8000
for the course
EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, as well as Irish nationals, may be eligible for the UK tuition fee rate.
Financial support
Subject to eligibility, UK students joining this course can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan from the Government to cover the full cost of tuition fees. UK students enrolling on the course may also be eligible to apply for additional funding to help with living costs.
Please view the relevant Money Matters guide for comprehensive information about the financial support available to eligible UK students.
EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme may be eligible to apply for financial support. Irish nationals can ordinarily apply to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). Please see our EU student finance page for further details.
Your future career
As a graduate with a University Advanced Certificate Mental Health & Wellbeing Practitioner: Specialist Adult Mental Health, you’ll leave us with the skills to work as a Band 5 professional with options for career progression.
The NHS Long Term Plan (2019) set out a commitment to new and integrated primary and community mental health care models. You’ll have experience of intensive practice-based sessions and working across agencies. This means you’ll meet the mental health and wellbeing practitioner requirements that emerged in response to the plan.
This new community-based position will promote access to:
- psychological therapies
- improved physical health care
- employment support
- personalised and trauma-informed care
- medicines management
- support for self-harm and coexisting substance use
You’ll be ready for a career that includes maintaining and developing new services for people who have the most complex needs and offers the chance to undertake proactive work to address racial disparities.
Course changes
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, however our courses are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may necessitate alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses.
Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of professional bodies, revisions to subject benchmarks statements, to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.
