International Conference on Early Intervention and Prevention in Mental Health 2025

Aim: It is common knowledge that mental health issues are continuing to rise globally. Despite concerted efforts by governments and communities around the world the issue of stigma and discrimination towards those with mental health issues continues. This presentation examines the development of an undergraduate certificate in mental health aimed at educating professionals and others within the community. We will provide practical and relevant examples on how educating our community can break down barriers.

Method: This four-unit course was developed by a multidisciplinary team including people with a lived-experience of mental health issues. The approach undertaken was to embed the lived-experience voice with academic content, within and across each 12-week unit. Customised content was developed.

Results: Over 3000 students successfully completed the course. At the end of each unit students were asked to provide feedback on views of the unit and their key. The student feedback indicated 3 main benefits 1. The value of the lived-experience 2. Increasing knowledge and deeper reflection 3. Being an ambassador to address stigma and discrimination in the community. The greatest challenge being the nature of the self-paced online learning platform.

Conclusion: The approach undertaken for this course is unique in education. It included and embedded the lived-experience voice throughout from codesign of the course, content delivery, assessment and evaluation. We term this ‘the unicorn approach’ or being different. Our different approach has been recognised at the highest level within the Monash University for the impact on industry and community education.

Aim: Governments and Institutes around the globe acknowledge that education and mental health literacy is central to prevention. This study is about a Government funded short course which evaluated the impact of a new online mental health course (4 units over 12 months) developed for non-clinicians working in the community. The aim was to explore change in mental health literacy and stigma beliefs towards those with mental health issues. This presentation will share learnings from the evaluation and its impact on non-clinicians working in the community and developing understanding and applying knowledge to those with mental health issues.

Method: Two-hundred and thirty students completed an online survey pre- and post-course completion between 2021 and 2022. Initially they provided demographic information such as level of education and profession. The second part of the survey included questions regarding knowledge on mental health and finally students completed the Beliefs Towards Mental Illness questionnaire to examine the level of stigmatising attitudes.

Results: The majority of the students had a bachelor’s degree and were employed full-time. The findings indicated a significant change in self-reported increased knowledge around mental health, mental health policy, the mental health workforce and the importance of the lived experience. In addition, there was a significant change in reductions of stigmatising beliefs towards those with mental health issues.

Conclusion: The study has provided evidence that the integration of such programs can provide a significant impact for a vast majority of people attending a specialised mental health course. improving mental health literacy in a non-mental health workforce. From a policy and funding perspective Governments and Institutes acknowledge education is a key aspect to addressing mental health literacy and reduction in stigma. The presentation will include recommendations and practical outcomes for implementation.