Youth workers and mental health
Empowering Youth Workers to help distressed young people. Courtesy of YANQ, funded by the Gambling Community Benefit Fund.
This learning package aims to help youth workers understand young peoples’ mental health, support them appropriately and make good referrals when needed.
It complements training in youth work by providing advice for addressing challenging scenarios, introducing valuable tools and strategies for assessing a young person’s situation, and highlighting the importance of social prescribing for young people. It offers practical insights to help you build stronger relationships, support young people through difficult times, and meet their needs effectively.
Some referral resources cited in this training are specific to youth workers located in Queensland. We also recommend referring to our ‘Resources for GPs’ page that describes other avenues for social prescribing.
The course is part of a project commissioned by the Youth Affairs Network Queensland (YANQ) and made possible with funding support from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund. It is available free of charge through the link below.
We can also work with you to develop bespoke training packages suited more specifically to your state or organisation.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this course, participants should:
- understand and implement improved reflective practice as part of their role as a youth worker
- understand the social determinants of health and how they impact on young people’s lives
- be able to use kinship maps and ecomaps as tools to improve inquiry into circumstances affecting young people’s lives
- be more comfortable communicating with young people in distress by making meaning of their feelings and circumstances
- feel better able to tolerate uncertainty when working with young people
- be more aware of the way they use language and the impact it has on young people
- be more confident in their ability to make a difference in a young person’s life
- be more confident in knowing when to refer, who to refer to, and how to make effective referrals
- be more confident in taking good risks in collaboration with colleagues and supervisors.
Instructions for enrolment:
This course is brought to you free of cost by the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ).
Click the link to begin your registration: https://catalog.adelaide.edu.au/courses/youth-workers-and-mental-health
- Click on Enrol button and enter your Full Name and Email Address and select the Enrol in Course button.
- Please note that when you first enrol, you will need to confirm your registration. You will receive two emails from Canvas Catalog – a “You Are Enrolled” email and a “Please confirm your email address – The University of Adelaide’s Catalog” email.
- Click on the Complete Registration button in your “Please confirm your email address – The University of Adelaide’s Catalog” email.
- A ‘Welcome Aboard!’ pop-up will appear. Create a password and enter into the Password field and then select the Register button.
- Canvas Catalog will log you directly into the Learning Management System – click on the course button to access your course.
- Once you are enrolled into the Canvas Catalog course, you can log in directly through the link using your email and password that you set when you registered.