This course is designed to enable students to recognize, assess and work with people who are experiencing a mental health crisis such as self-harm, suicide risk, aggression risk, relapse and trauma, etc. Various intervention approaches for working with people in mental health crisis will be discussed, such as crisis intervention, trauma-focused intervention, cognitive behavioural therapy, and critical incident stress debriefing. Issues of local policy, legislation and services related to mental health crises will also be discussed. In addition, this course provides students with experiential learning activities, including simulation exercises related to mental health crises, to enhance understanding and application of intervention approaches and skills in assessing and working with people experiencing a mental health crisis.

AM1.  Group Presentation (30%)

Students are required to divide up into several groups. Each group is required to design a training program for the public (such as teachers, parents, peers, or helping professionals) to support people who are in a mental health crisis. Each group should make a presentation on the theoretical approach, program contents and skills demonstration on the training program.

AM2: Reflection paper (30%)

Each student is required to complete a suicide prevention program (e.g. Online Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training Course; see https://gatekeeping.samaritans.org.hk/) or equivalent, and then, submit a reflection paper on the learning experiences from it. 

AM3: Term Paper (40%)

Each student is required to submit a term paper of approximately 2,500 words on an intervention approach learnt in this course for people experiencing a mental health crisis. This paper should critically comment on the objective, content, intervention skills, contributions and limitations of the chosen intervention approach.