Unit rationale, description and aim
People with a lived experience of mental illness commonly present with additional and interacting needs, including physical health comorbidity, disability and neurodevelopmental conditions, alcohol and other drug use concerns, and the impacts of trauma. Experiences of social inequality (for example, discrimination, reduced access to appropriate services and housing insecurity) can further compound distress, shape risk and protective factors, and contribute to poorer health and social outcomes. These intersecting health and contextual factors increase complexity and require mental health professionals to move beyond single-issue approaches. This unit develops advanced, evidence-informed capability in integrated mental health practice, with a focus on person-led, recovery-oriented, trauma-informed and culturally responsive practice. Students will examine contemporary approaches to understanding and responding to complexity in practice, including holistic assessment, collaborative formulation, and coordinated planning across service systems including primary care, specialist mental health, alcohol and other drugs, disability and community services. Emphasis is placed on interprofessional communication, shared decision-making, and ethically grounded practice that supports consumer, family and carer engagement.
The aim of the unit is to equip students to design and justify integrated responses to mental health and co-occurring conditions and social determinants that are feasible in practice and aligned with current policy and practice guidelines.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Synthesise key concepts and evidence underpinning ...
Learning Outcome 01
Analyse how co-occurring conditions and social det...
Learning Outcome 02
Design an integrated, evidence-informed response f...
Learning Outcome 03
Evaluate integrated mental health practice approac...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
Foundations of integrated mental health practice
- Integrated models of practice: definitions, scope and rationale in contemporary mental health practice
- Person-led, recovery-oriented, and trauma-informed practice principles
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing frameworks and implications for integrated mental health practice
- Evidence-informed practice: using research, lived experience and practice experience
Understanding co-occurring conditions and social determinants
- How comorbidity and complexity develop over the life course
- Implications for practice with children and young people, adults, and older adults
- Alcohol and other drug use concerns and mental illness (integrated perspectives)
- Physical health comorbidity and medication-related impacts
- Disability and neurodevelopmental conditions in mental health contexts
- Social determinants and inequality (e.g., discrimination, access barriers, housing insecurity)
Making sense of complexity—holistic assessment and collaborative formulation
- Holistic assessment approaches
- Developmental and ageing considerations in assessment and formulation
- Collaborative formulation and shared understanding with consumers, families and carers and interprofessional colleagues
- Culturally safe assessment and formulation in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
- Safety planning and responding to complexity
- Ethical reasoning, privacy and consent in complex, multi-service contexts
Designing integrated responses and coordinated practice
- Integrated intervention planning
- Age-responsive integrated planning with children and young people, adults, and older adults
- Interprofessional collaboration, roles, referral pathways and handover practices
- Supporting continuity of care across transitions (e.g., acute to community)
- Working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and community services
Quality, safety and system improvement in integrated practice
- Evaluating integrated models of practice and the evidence for effective integrated practice
- Equity and access: identifying and addressing barriers within services and systems
- Reflective practice, professional boundaries and self-care in complex work
Assessment strategy and rationale
To pass this unit, students must attempt and submit both assessment tasks, demonstrate achievement of every unit learning outcome, and obtain a minimum mark of 50%.
The assessment strategy uses two authentic, scaffolded tasks that progressively develop knowledge and skills in integrated mental health practice, supporting learning as well as providing opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning. Assessment 1 (Scenario analysis) develops and assesses students’ understanding of key concepts and evidence underpinning integrated practice for mental health and co-occurring conditions and social determinants (LO1) and their ability to analyse how these factors interact to influence mental health presentation, engagement and outcomes (LO2, LO3, LO4). Assessment 2 (Integrated response plan and critical reflection) requires students to design an integrated, evidence-informed response for a complex scenario (LO1, LO2, LO3), and to evaluate integrated approaches and service system responses to recommend improvements that promote person-led, recovery-oriented, trauma-informed and culturally responsive practice for consumers, families and carers (LO4).
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1: Scenario analysis. Students...
Assessment 1: Scenario analysis.
Students analyse a practice scenario to identify co-occurring conditions and social determinants and their influence on mental health presentation, engagement and outcomes.
50%
Assessment 2: Integrated response plan and critic...
Assessment 2: Integrated response plan and critical reflection.
Students develop and justify an integrated response for a complex scenario, with an evaluation of relevant practice and service system considerations.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Learning and teaching strategies utilised in this unit will support students in meeting the aim and achieving the learning outcomes relevant to this unit, as well as to the broader course learning outcomes. This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to integrated practice for mental health and co-occurring conditions. Delivered as fully online, asynchronous learning allows students to learn at their own pace within the parameters of the teaching term. Weekly modules are structured around an inquiry cycle (engage, explore, apply and reflect) that guides students from key concepts and evidence to analysis of authentic scenarios. Learning is further supported through facilitated asynchronous discussion forums, weekly online drop-in sessions, and an online assessment session for each assessment task with the unit's online facilitator. The discussion forums provide students with activities that encourage students to critically discuss concepts, share practice-based examples (including from their own professional contexts), and provide constructive peer feedback. These activities are designed to build a learning community and deepen critical reflection in a supported online environment. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.