National Certificate in Mental Health (Mental Health Support Work) (Level 4)

If you are working as a mental health support worker or interested in working alongside people with experience of mental illness on their journey to recovery then the National Certificate in Mental Health (Mental Health Support Work) (Level 4) is for you.

Mental health support workers carry out a supportive relationship with people who have been or are experiencing mental illness. They support consumers/tangata whaiora to develop and implement individual lifestyle or support plans. Mental health support workers work in a collaborative manner alongside consumers/tangata whaiora (and sometimes with their family/whānau and friends) to support them in their recovery. Mental health support workers work within a framework for practice informed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ethical standards, health standards, service specifications, and legislation.

Course overview

The National Certificate in Mental Health is based upon a recovery approach to mental illness. It is designed to be a minimum qualification for people who wish to enter mental health support work, or who already work paid or unpaid in a mental health support work role, or similar, under supervision. It is a nationally recognised full-time programme that takes 43 weeks to complete (11 months), and involves 17 unit standards (124 credits) from the NZQA framework.

The course has five modules:

• personal development
• relationship building
• holistic models of wellness
• professional development
• making it real.

All of the Blueprint course delivery, learning and assessments are designed around classroom and group activities, a theoretical case study, and as well as some practical assessments which are completed in your workplace.

We are also able to deliver this course in other locations on request, provided there are a minimum of eight students participating and subject to NZQA approval of the site

The 2013 course began on 7 February 2013 and will end on 6 December 2013. Graduation will be held on 13 December 2013.

Course completion requirements

To help you meet the course requirements, classes are held fortnightly at our training centre, and when not at class, learners are to be applying the learning in their workplace. By course end, you are required to have:

• completed 672 workplace hours in a mental health support work type role
• attended 252 class room hours of learning (42 days)
• met the requirements of all course assessments.

Course entry requirements

You must:

• be 18 years or older
• be a New Zealand or Australian permanent resident or citizen (some exceptions apply, please contact the course administrator)
• be currently working in a mental health support work role, or similar, or have a placement secured for this role, for a minimum of 20 hours per week for the course duration (paid or unpaid)
• have the support of your workplace to complete this study (they will be required to supervise a small part of your course work).

Course fees

Course fees for 2014 have not been set. As an indication, 2013 course fees were as follows.

Early bird

The 2013 early bird rate was $4053.37 (including GST). All 2013 National Certificate in Mental Health applications received by 3 December 2012 were eligible for this rate.

Group rate

The group rate was available for organisations enrolling a minimum of three people on to the 2013 National Certificate in Mental Health before enrolment end, at a rate of $4053.37 (including GST) per person.

Standard fee

The standard fee for the 2013 course of study was $4283.37 (including GST).

Student loans, scholarships and grants

The National Certificate in Mental Health is eligible for a student loan and allowance. To find out if you meet loan and allowance criteria, and to apply for a student loan and/or allowance, contact StudyLink.

You may also be eligible for a training grant or scholarship, please see below for more information.

National mental health support workers training grant

Mental health support workers can access a Careerforce training grant to partially fund their tuition fees for the National Certificate in Mental Health.

Le Va mental health and addiction scholarships

Le Va mental health and addiction scholarships are intended to increase the number of Pacific people working in mental health and addiction and enhance the knowledge and skills of the current Pacific workforce.

Ministry of Health public health workforce development scholarships and grants

Public Health Workforce Development offers information about public health workforce development scholarships and grants. Browse through a number of scholarships and grants to see if there is one which meets your needs.

Verification of workplace hours

Students undertaking the National Certificate in Mental Health are required to complete workplace hours verification forms for February to December 2013.

Verification of workplace and professional supervisors

Do you need to have a new supervisor authorised for your studies? If so, download the following form, ask your supervisor to complete it and return it to Blueprint.

Verification of workplace and professional supervisor(s) (PDF, 124KB)

Further information

Application information for the 2014 course will be made available in late 2013.

Please contact one of our regional administrators for more information about the National Certificate in Mental Health. We look forward to hearing from you.