Mental Health Support Specialist

Online Certification Training

This course will benefit anyone considering a career in allied health, as well as those already working in the field. Allied Health Professionals must be committed to the key attributes of professionalism and strive to reflect this within the delivery of patient-centered safe and effective care. “Professionalism” is a broad term that reflects many different skills and abilities. For an individual to exhibit professionalism, he/she must be armed with specific skills and abilities that do not always show up within certification requirements, or even within a career training curriculum. Soft skills are hard to measure and are typically less well-defined than hard skills. However, soft skills are what set many job candidates apart. Professionalism is not just what one knows, it is how one does their job, how one behaves and how one comes across as they interact with others.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with soft skills training that will provide the tools needed to demonstrate a higher level of professionalism on the job. Key components of the course focus on patient interaction, proper office behavior, medical ethics, diversity and cultural bias, emotional strength, professional appearance and communication. The course maintains a focus on the key attributes that are true markers of professionalism.

This course was created with input from healthcare professionals working in the field, healthcare employers that hire our graduates, professional educators and even former MedCerts students. The end result is a collection of modules that touch on the soft skills that are TRULY important in the real world of allied healthcare. In this course, students are engaged through scenario-based learning that allows for real interaction with virtual co-workers and patients. Additionally, game-based activities keep students engaged and entertained throughout their learning journey.

This course is designed to familiarize the student with the language of medicine, through the study of prefixes, suffixes, root words, abbreviation, and pronunciation of words. The curriculum also includes an anatomy and physiology app that enables students to explore, visualize, interact, and experience the anatomy of the human body in 3D and augmented reality (AR). Students will examine the organization of the integumentary, musculoskeletal, hematic, lymphatic and immune, and cardiovascular systems in the human body. They will become familiar with the medical terms that relate to the respiratory, digestive, nervous, endocrine, reproductive, and excretory systems. Students will also examine terms related to the sensory organs, with a concentration on the organs for hearing, sight, and smell. This immersive experience will trigger thought processes and enhance learning outcomes in their Anatomy and Physiology program. The app has about 50 simulations across different topics.

The course provides the foundational knowledge required of a clinical allied healthcare professional, as well as those working with individuals with psychiatric illness and/or intellectual disabilities. It has been designed to prepare students to achieve the status of Mental Health Technician - Certified.

Emphasis is placed on the intake process, crisis care, inpatient care and discharge planning duties and related knowledge. This course includes topics related to mental health disorders, substance use disorders, behavioral crisis management, ethical behavior, HIPAA compliance, anatomy and physiology, infection control, use of personal protective equipment, comprehensive electronic health records and effective communication. It also addresses psychiatric pharmacology, aspects of medical law related to the psychiatric healthcare setting, support of the client through all phases of treatment, and maintaining client safety throughout the client's time in treatment

In this course, students are exposed to a variety of eLearning elements that allow hands-on interaction with the screen for an engaging education. In addition to video-based instruction that provides foundational knowledge, a variety of other learning methods are utilized for engagement, entertainment, and inspiration throughout training. These include interactive skill activities, game-based learning, an immersive environment for critical thinking skills, and hands-on simulations providing the student opportunities to interact within the mental health setting while assisting the psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and therapists, all of which are key skills for the Mental Health Support Specialist