Mental Health Promotion: Researching a Model for Curricular Development

Abstract

Despite a stated commitment to the promotion of mental health in regional strategy documents (DHSSPSNI, 2002), mental health promotion in Northern Ireland remains an underdeveloped area of health promotion. This may be in part attributable to lack of knowledge of the field and absence of appropriate training. Until now a mental health promotion course for social care workers and those in the educational field has not been available in the Province. It was recognised that such a course should be developed, to educate those in the social care world effectively in this complex and developing field. In the Spring of 2001 a proposal was submitted by the Education Department of the Association of Mental Health to the School of Sociology and Applied Social Studies at the University of Ulster, outlining a 12-week module called Mental Health Promotion Principles and Practice. It was duly accredited by the University of Ulster as a module available in the final year of the BSc (Hons) Professional Development in Social Work degree. The module is research-based and draws on current theoretical models of mental health promotion. This paper describes and evaluates the effectiveness of the module, delivered by the Association for Mental Health from February to May 2002. Eleven students successfully completed the course.

Keywords:

• professional development
• mental health promotion
• theory and practice