This infant and early childhood mental health assessment and management eLearning course focuses on the identification, assessment, care planning and support required for children aged 0-5 at risk of or experiencing mental health difficulties. The course is built around a General Practice Framework of:
- knowledge of common child mental health conditions
- engagement skills required when interacting with a child and their family
- practical skills for child mental health assessment and management
This is a self-paced online course. Content is delivered using written, visual, audio, and video media, starting at a foundational level then building on knowledge via reinforcement and introduction of new concepts at each Module. The course design, delivery and assessment has been co-designed with GPs and parents. Children's voice has been integrated throughout the course. Key skills covered in this course include
- Active Listening
- Safety netting
- Prioritising.
- Clinical interviewing of a child and parent
- Biopsychosocial formulation.
- Referral as part of Better Access pathway
- developing a mental health treatment plan
- Psychoeducation.
Online learning hours:
6.25
Pre/Post hours:
1.25
Total hours:
7.50
Total hours includes:
Case study hours:
3.50
Pre/Post activity
Pre: Listen to a podcast and respond to questions:
Post: Read a journal article and respond to questions
These activities will only be available to GPs who have registered with a valid ACRRM membership number
Learning objectives
- list the key strengths and vulnerabilities that
influence infant and early childhood mental health
- prioritise the key engagement skills required as part
of an infant and early childhood mental health assessment
- assess common mental health difficulties in children
aged 0-5 years by undertaking a biopsychosocial mental health formulation; and
- develop a comprehensive management plan related to common early childhood mental health concerns for children under five years.
Assessment information
In order to help contexualise these skills into practice the GP learner will be required to reflect on their response to scenarios and will engage in a variety of assessments throughout the course. Feedback is provided on some of the activities via video feedback. This 'check your understanding' activity asks for the learner to reflect on what their response to a scenario would be, then proceed to the next stage of the activity which is a feedback video of a GP describing a suitable response and explaining reasons for the response.
The GP will also review a fictional scenario and complete key documents as part of the assessment including biopsychosocial formulation and developing a mental health treatment plan.
Additional infomation
Core learning
This course will take you approximately 7.5 hours to complete, including the pre and post activities, written content and all videos.
Further reading
Additional time can be spent to view the supporting resources included throughout the course.
You can undertake the course across multiple sessions at your own pace. The last screen you visit before logging off will be bookmarked and you will have the option of returning to that screen when you next log in.