Course

Mental Health and Substance Use

Faculty
Health Sciences
Department
Mental Health and Personal Support Work
Course Code
MHPS 2200
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
9 Weeks
Max Class Size
32
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Course Designation
None
Industry Designation
None
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
This course will focus on students developing the knowledge and skills needed to respond effectively to clients experiencing co-existing substance use and mental illness, using a bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework. Emphasis will be on understanding substance use, addiction processes and illness, harm reduction practices, facilitating change, evidence-based treatment approaches, promoting recovery, and maintenance of health and well-being.
Course Content

•    Mental health initiatives
    o    Provincial
    o    National
    o    Global
•    Vulnerability
    o    Advocacy
    o    Marginalization
    o    Stigma
    o    Discrimination
    o    Cultural safety and humility
    o    Respect
    o    Recovery
    o    Hope
    o    Resilience
    o    Health literacy
•    Vulnerable populations
    o    Mental health challenges (chronic/persistent and acute)
    o    Substance use disorders
    o    Harm reduction
    o    Homelessness
    o    Poverty
    o    Indigenous Peoples
    o    Sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender identity, diversity, and inclusion
    o    Violence and abuse
    o    Refugees and immigrants
•    Professional roles and responsibilities
    o    Prevention
    o    Living with health challenges
    o    Recovery
    o    Client-centered care 

Learning Activities

In this course, students engage in a variety of learning activities such as lecture, group work, case studies, and team-based exercises.

Means of Assessment

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course.

This course is a graded course, not a mastery course.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
1.    Implement various approaches to understanding and responding to substance use and addiction;
2.    Demonstrate appropriate screening for substance use and care planning for clients with substance use and addiction in clinical practice;
3.    Describe common signs of withdrawal and/or physical dependence related to opioids, alcohol, and tobacco and utilize related assessment tools;
4.    Identify potential harms that clients might experience when using substances and identify strategies to mitigate these harms;
5.    Describe factors that contribute to overdose risk and apply interventions related to overdose prevention;
6.    Implement the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for safe, compassionate, and holistic care for vulnerable clients with common, predictable, and emerging mental health challenges and substance use disorders.

Textbook Materials

Textbooks and materials are to be purchased by students. A list of required textbooks and materials will be provided for students at the beginning of the semester.

Requisites

Prerequisites

Students in the MHSU program are required to maintain a passing grade of 65% (C+) in all courses to progress in the program.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for MHPS 2200
There are no applicable transfer credits for this course.

Course Offerings

Summer 2024