Specialist Training Course in Mental Health

The Mental Health Specialisation is a postgraduate course for professionals in the helping professions. Contrary to simplistic everyday terminology, helping professions are defined as all professions whose purpose is to stand by, develop, educate, train, support, care for, heal, or assist in any way another person. The practical program does not provide a fundamentally new professional identity, i.e. it is not aimed at learning a new ‘profession’. It does not train post-graduates, but teachers, doctors, social workers, pastors, managers, etc. with additional knowledge on mental health promotion.  The aim is to train professionals who, through their activities, attitudes and professional collaborations, serve the preservation and development of mental health in their field of expertise (be it education, health, social or other).

They become ‘better’ teachers, pastors, doctors, nurses, and social workers by

  • increasing their psychosocial competence;
  • being able to approach situations and phenomena affecting mental health from different angles and perspectives;
  • increase their self-awareness and reflective skills
  • become more aware and thus have more opportunities for action;
  • become more open and prepared to cooperate with other professionals and institutions and to develop cooperation with them.

The goal of the program is to promote positive changes, especially in the work attitude and work area of the students. The key concepts of the training program are:

  • knowledge in psychological and social sciences;
  • vocational and personal development (using psychodrama methodology)
  • burnout prevention;
  • techniques of interdisciplinary cooperation;
  • person-centred helping relationships;
  • managing community support networks;
  • mental health promotion and prevention;
  • organizational development skills.

For further information contact Bernadett Asztalos PhD (asztalos.bernadett@semmelweis.hu)