Want to contribute to your community?
Become a Mental Health Support Worker
Become a Mental Health Support Worker
At Deacon Training Academy (DTA), we train mental health support workers/kaiāwhina to provide skilled care for persons with mental health needs. As a mental health support worker, your work will help to close existing gaps in the mental health care system while you support individuals and organisations to recognise, attend to, and prevent mental illness within their own communities.
Our programme is approved by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) under section 439 of the Education Act 2020, and Deacon Trust is accredited to provide it under section 441 of the Act. Graduates will be awarded the New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Social and Community Services) (Level 4) (Mental Health and Addiction Support). When you achieve this nationally recognised qualification, you will be able to work professionally in communities, churches, mental health support organisations, for care providers, or in government services.
Course overview
The course consists of 10 modules taught over 4 terms, each of which has a two week break in between (in line with school terms), over a total of 38 weeks term time. Class sessions are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with a two-hour small group session for each student held on Wednesdays. In addition, from the beginning of Term 2, you will spend about 7-8 hours a week on placement in a supervised community setting that provides you with practical experience. In Term 4, the number of placement hours increases while classroom hours are reduced. You will earn a total of 121 credits on the NZ Qualification Framework, meeting the requirements for you to be awarded the NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing.
1.1 Te Tiriti o Waitangi
1.2 Our Place in the Therapeutic Relationship
1.3 Mental Health Conditions and the Whole Person
2.1 Addiction
2.2 Ethical Practice in the Field
2.3 New Zealand's Mental Health System
3.1 Family, Whanau & the Mental Health Sector
3.2 Human Development, Safety, and Risk
4.1 Social Situations and Regulations
4.2 The Listening Environment & the Support Plan
Every student will have the opportunity to participate in several one-to-one mentoring sessions with a DTA staff member during the course.
Students may choose how they participate but will be encouraged to view these sessions as opportunities for personal growth. These are not counselling sessions, but you can elect to discuss what you wish, including raising any personal issues that you feel are relevant to your learning processes. No academic achievement requirements will be tied to mentoring sessions.
What do mental health support workers do?
As a mental health support worker, you will:
Support your clients in the journey towards wellness,
Support your client’s access to health care and help them to navigate the system,
Assist to minimise barriers between the community and the health system,
Help to reduce the stigma related to mental health that often exists in communities,
Understand and support cultural compatibility within communities,
Support the person with mental health needs to live well within their own community,
Provide spiritual support where requested. DTA’s foundation is based on Christian principles of care for all and in harmony with Te Whare Tapa Whā, a widely-accepted model for Māori wellbeing that incorporates physical, mental, social, and spiritual wellbeing.
What makes DTA different?
An emphasis on person-to-person/face-to face contact.
Personal mentoring for each student.
Teaching and encouraging self-reflection skills that positively contribute to relationships with others.
Practising listening and empathy.
Reinforcing the importance of community.
Growing and nurturing personal development, encouraging you to pursue ongoing learning, knowledge, skills, and involvement with mental health and wellness.