This session provides an overview of mental health, mental health issues and mental illness. It's aimed at PSWs and other support workers who have not had recent training in mental health.

It will help your staff:

• better understand mental health issues and mental illness
• examine personal beliefs about mental health issues, mental illness and the impact those beliefs may have when working with a client
• understand in general terms the most common types of mental illnesses among older people, including depression, other affective disorders and thought disorders
• identify fundamental support techniques useful in working with clients with mental health issues
• identify risks to the support worker’s own boundaries and well-being - and strategies to address them

This workshop is typically offered as a three-hour session but if you prefer a longer or shorter duration, it can be customized to fit your organization's specific requirements.

Clients who have mental health conditions may find it difficult to trust others. Yet, trust and rapport are fundamental to support work. This session will focus on the skills and approaches useful for PSWs and other front-line support workers when building a relationship and sense of connectedness with clients who have mental health issues.  Focus will be on establishing rapport that can be built upon as service progresses.

This session will help your staff:

• appreciate the factors that may affect a person’s views of support or willingness to trust another
• identify the client’s goals and needs and how they relate to the overall support plan
• use interpersonal skills to overcome hesitation, difficulty in trusting
• use tools to identify what does, and doesn’t, matter in terms of the support provided

This workshop is typically offered as a three-hour session but if you prefer a longer or shorter duration, it can be customized to fit your organization's specific requirements.

This workshop will provide a framework to help PSWs and other front-line support workers enhance their ability to communicate with clients who have mental health issues.

This workshop will help your staff:

• describe the importance of observation and critical thinking in communicating with a client with mental health issues
• identify various approaches that may enhance communication
• share support information useful to the team with the team

This workshop is typically offered as a three-hour session but if you prefer a longer or shorter duration, it can be customized to fit your organization's specific requirements.

This interactive workshop will provide your front-line staff with the knowledge and skills needed to support clients with depression.  Your support workers will learn about the condition, its symptoms and causes, and understand ways in which depression affects client’s lives. There will be ample opportunity for your staff to discuss their own experiences and learn new techniques and approaches to better identify and support clients with depression. 

This workshop will help your staff:

• understand the similarities and differences between a client who is sad, and one who is showing symptoms of depression
• be better equipped to recognize signs of depression in clients
• feel more confident talking to and supporting clients with symptoms of depression
• recognize the value of their interaction and use their skills to support clients
• identify risks to their own boundaries and well-being - and strategies to address them

This workshop is typically offered as a three-hour session but if you prefer a longer or shorter duration, it can be customized to fit your organization's specific requirements.

This session will help your staff to identify the characteristics of anxiety and other affective disorders, and to respond with appropriate support.

This session will help your staff:

• identify and challenge myths about anxiety and other affective disorders and better understand how these misunderstandings may affect how the worker supports the client
• gain current general knowledge of anxiety and other affective disorders; their signs and causes
• understand common struggles for someone with anxiety
• gain insight into the impacts on family and other caregivers
• learn strategies to support clients, including participating positively in support planning/implementation

This workshop is typically offered as a three-hour session but if you prefer a longer or shorter duration, it can be customized to fit your organization's specific requirements.

This customized program provides PSWs and other front-line support workers with an in-depth understanding of mental health conditions. Separating myth from knowledge, the program provides numerous approaches for providing support to clients.  We’ll work with you to select topics that meet your organization’s specific needs and create a comprehensive program that builds confidence and practical skills. 

Capacity Builders’ specialist certificate programs are typically 12 - 18 hours in length and include extensive hands-on learning (the program does not have to be delivered on consecutive days – we’ll work together to determine an appropriate training schedule for your staff).  We welcome the opportunity to work with single organizations, multiple providers, collaboratives, or networks.  A certificate identifying participants as Specialists in Mental Health is awarded to those who successfully complete the program.