Fundamentals of Behavioral Health Overview
Summary of Course Units
The following are the nine Learning Units.
- Unit 1. Fundamentals of Brain Anatomy, Psychological Processes, and Social Systems
- Unit 2. Treatment Modalities for Psychiatric Disorders
- Unit 3. Psychiatric Disorders and Treatments
- Unit 4. Suicide and Suicide Interventions
- Unit 5: Legal Requirements, Ethical Responsibilites, Reporting, and Documentation
- Unit 6: Communication, Compassion, and Teamwork
- Unit 7: Resiliency, Personal Empowerment, and Self-Care
- Unit 8: Therapeutic Settings and Resources
- Unit 9: Recognizing and Responding to Aggressive Behavior
The following 9 Units must be successfully mastered. Units are taken online. Each Unit is approximately 10 hours.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of Units 1-9 it is expected that students will demonstrate the Fundamentals of Behavioral Health Learning Outcomes. These include the following:
- Explain the role, responsibilities, and boundaries when caring for patients with behavioral
health problems or mental health disorders.
- Recognize differences between mental and behavioral health and behavioral health problems
and mental health disorders.
- Identify common behavioral health problems and mental health disorders, understanding
their risk factors, signs, and symptoms and how these affect behavior.
- Demonstrate compassionate and effective verbal and nonverbal communication when interacting
with patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders.
- Collaboratively communicate and work with a team in a variety of settings, whether
it be a medical or a therapeutic environment and comply with a plan of care or treatment
plan as directed by the licensed members of the team.
- Examine different treatment modalities, settings, and helpful resources available
to patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders.
- Maintain quality care and personal and patient safety.
- Identify confrontation and physical threats and effectively react and respond using
appropriate reduction and management strategies.
- Acknowledge personal limitations and resources when dealing with violent or aggressive
patients, obtaining help from co-workers, when needed.
- Build resilience skills and personal empowerment, and use self-care strategies and self-reflective practices, to effectively work in stressful environments.
Unit 1 - Fundamentals of Brain Anatomy, Psychological Processes, and Social Systems
Description
In this unit you will learn basic brain anatomy & physiology, psychological processes, and social systems & social determinants of health. Knowing these basics will increase your ability to understand mental illnesses and their treatments.
Unit 2 – Treatment Modalities for Psychiatric Disorders
Description
This Unit examines the different modalities for treating psychiatric illnesses. It covers biological treatments, psychotherapy, social interventions, and lifestyle treatments.
Unit 3 – Psychiatric Disorders and Treatments
Description
In this Unit, you will learn how professionals diagnose psychiatric disorders by detecting specific criteria for each. You then will learn of the potential etiologies/causes of the disorders. Finally, you will learn the treatment options available for specific psychiatric disorders.
Unit 4 – Suicide and Suicide Interventions
Description
Suicide risk is increased with most psychiatric disorders, and thus it is a Unit in and of itself. This Unit covers facts about suicide per se, and then what interventions can help prevent suicide.
Unit 5 – Legal Requirements, Ethical Responsibilites, Reporting, and Documentation
Description
In this Unit, you will learn about roles and responsibilities, professional behaviors and attitudes, and important boundaries when caring for and responding to patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders. Included are the legal requirements ethical responsibilities you will need to know. In addition, emphasis is on the importance of accurate reporting and documentation.
Core Competencies and Expected Skills
- Explain the role, responsibilities, and boundaries when caring for patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders.
Objectives
- Identify the roles, responsibilities, and behaviors of those who care for and respond
to patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders.
- Describe the importance of and guidelines for maintaining personal and professional
boundaries.
- Discuss the legal requirements and ethical responsibilities when caring for or responding
to patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders.
- List the guidelines needed to provide accurate reporting.
- Demonstrate proper documentation.
Unit 6 – Communication, Compassion, and Teamwork
Description
In this Unit, you will learn how to effectively communicate, both verbally and non-verbally, to better ensure positive and growth producing interactions and relationships. You will also explore the dimensions of compassion and its impact on the care you provide. Also emphasized in this Unit is how to collaboratively communicate and work with and within a team and the importance of following a plan of care or treatment plan.
Core Competencies and Expected Skills
- Demonstrate compassionate and effective verbal and nonverbal communication when interacting with patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders.
- Collaboratively communicate and work with a team in a variety of settings, whether it be a medical or a therapeutic environment and comply with a plan of care or treatment plan as directed by the licensed members of the team
Objectives
- Examine the impact verbal and nonverbal communication has on achieving positive and growth-producing interactions and relationships.
- Describe the dimensions and meaningfulness of providing compassionate care.
- Discuss the principles of and strategies to ensure teamwork and collaboration.
- Display the behaviors and attitudes necessary to effectively work with and within multi-disciplinary teams.
- Explain the importance of following a plan of care or treatment plan.
Unit 7 – Resiliency, Personal Empowerment, and Self-Care
Description
In this Unit, you will learn how to strengthen personal empowerment, develop resiliency, and integrate self-care practices into your daily life. These are needed to better manage stress, achieve work-life balance and personal wellness, and are necessary to increase your ability and skill to engage with and respond to patients with behavioral health problems and mental health disorders.
Core Competencies and Expected Skills
- Build resilience skills and needed self-care practices to effectively work in stressful environments.
Objectives
- Examine strategies to strengthen personal empowerment.
- Identify the behaviors and actions needed to build resilience.
- Integrate self-care practices into daily life to manage stress and to achieve work-life balance and personal wellness.
Unit 8 - Therapeutic Settings and Resources
Description
In this Unit you are introduced to a variety of therapeutic settings that may be used to help patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders. Treatment modalities are also discussed with focus on the importance of maintaining a respectful therapeutic relationship with patients. Providing quality care and personal and patient safety are emphasized. Seclusion and patient restraint guidelines are also provided in the event their use is needed. National and state links are provided to broaden your knowledge about behavioral health problems and mental health disorders. They are also listed as resources to help you assist, support, and educate patients and their families.
Core Competencies and Expected Skills
-
Examine different treatment modalities, settings, and helpful resources available to patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders.
- Maintain quality care and personal and patient safety.
Objectives
- Identify different therapeutic settings available to patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders.
- Discuss a variety of treatment modalities currently being used.
- Identify guidelines that can promote quality care for patients with behavioral health problems or mental health disorders.
- Maintain personal and patient safety.
- Describe the guidelines, appropriate time and technique, used when patient restraint is needed.
- Select resources that further knowledge and help assist, support, and educate patients and their families.
Unit 9 – Recognizing and Responding to Aggressive Behavior
Description
In this unit you will learn how to recognize and take action steps to respond to aggressive behavior. Included is an overview of the signs of angry, aggressive, and violent patients. Also emphasized are ways to reduce fear, minimize potential for injury, and appropriately respond to patients when confronted in these situations.
Core Competencies and Expected Skills
-
Identify confrontation and physical threats and effectively react and respond using appropriate reduction and management strategies.
- Acknowledge personal limitations and resources when dealing with violent or aggressive patients, using the help from co-workers, when needed.
Objectives
- Demonstrate an awareness of and skills needed to recognize and appropriately respond
to angry and/or aggressive behavior.
- Provide effective and compassionate methods of preventing aggressive behaviors and ways to calm patients who display these behaviors.
- Develop personal empowerment by building skills to increase confidence during these stressful situations and lowering the risk of potential injury.
