Graduate Certificate in Child and Youth Mental Health

Planned start date: Summer 2008

Admissions information: For more detailed information about the program, the admission process, and forms follow this link: http://www.tru.ca/distance/programs/health_sci/gcymh.html

Our proposed schedule for program delivery is:
CYMH 551, May and September 2008
CYMH 552, May and September 2008
CYMH 553, May and September 2008
CYMH 554, This course will be continuous enrolment.

The Graduate Child and Youth Mental Health Clinical Certificate Program is designed to enable bachelors and masters prepared social workers, counsellors, child and youth care workers and nurses to provide assessment and treatment for clients with mental health disorders. The critical need for such specialists has been identified by British Columbia's Schools of Social Work, Schools of Child and Youth Care, and Ministry for Children and Family Development, and is consistent with the Child and Youth Mental Health Plan for BC (2004).

For this graduate certificate program, the curriculum will take a multi-modal strengths-based approach for working with children and families with serious mental health concerns. The curriculum will also include a focus on Aboriginal and cross-cultural contexts. The program consists of 4 courses and a clinical internship. Course work has been designed to be consistent with a graduate level of study. The courses are described below:

CYMH 551: Context and Theory in Child and Youth Mental Health Practice (3 credits)

This course is designed to help orient you to the CYMH curriculum, to help you become better prepared to serve as a child and youth mental health clinician by developing your understanding of the issues and service delivery systems in the field, and to help you design your own personal learning plan

CYMH 552: Assessment for Intervention in Child and Youth Mental Health (4 credits)

This course will provide an understanding of assessment issues and approaches relevant to the support of children and youth with mental health concerns and their families. You will be introduced to a range of issues and considerations that guide a thorough and accurate evaluation and diagnosis and develop an understanding of specific assessment processes and instruments associated with specific conditions.

CYMH 553: Intervention in Child and Youth Mental Health (4 credits)

This course will prepare you to develop a comprehensive intervention plan based on the unique strengths and needs of the child and family. You will review evidence-based interventions, essential components of treatment plans, and the principles and steps of intervention planning.

CYMH 554: Clinical Internship and Capstone (5 credits)

This course provides the structure and supervision for an intership in child and youth mental health. Field education will provide students with an opportunity to enhance and refine their child and youth mental health social work skills. Students who are currently working in a mental health position, must ensure that their placement work is specifically with children and youth and that appropriate supervision is available within or can be contracted outside of the agency. The capstone aspect of this course will provide you with the opportunity to process and articulate the skills and knowledge gained through the program and formulate plans for continuing professional education.

Program Advisory Committee

Jim Campbell, MSW, Director, Mental Health, Interior Health Authority
Grant Larson, PhD, Faculty, School of Social Work and Human Service, Thompson Rivers University
Lorraine Hathaway, MSW, Clinical Director of Outpatient Psychiatry, B.C. Children's Hospital
Shari Laliberte, MSN, Faculty, School of Nursing, Thompson Rivers University
Paule McNicoll, PhD, Faculty, School of Social Work and Family Studies, University of British Columbia
Gayle Read, MSW, Mental Health Consultant, Senior Psychiatric Social Work Specialist, Ministry for Children and Family Development