APC - Advanced Pastoral Care

  • 990 Standard Tuition Fee
  • 1
    Credit Points
  • 0.125 EFT 
  • 1
    AQF level
  • Pastoral & Church-Focussed Ministry Unit Discipline

Content

Section A: Understanding Mental Health

This section seeks to apprise the student of the major factors and contexts relating to mental health issues.

  • Role of the pastor in the context of the mental health sector: political, economic, historical and social.
  • Understanding scope and depth of major psychiatric illnesses and the stigma surrounding them.
  • National standards for mental health services; role of the legal system including police, courts and community treatment orders.

Section B: Professional Conduct for the Pastoral Carer

The pastoral carer must engage with the spiritual and psychological needs of the person. This segment explores the relevant standards and practices that inform and regulate the provision of care.

  • The legislation, policy and regulations framework that governs pastoral professional conduct in regard to mental health (see Bibliography key documents)
  • Principles of professional conduct, including confidentiality; duty of care; access and equity; ethics and values; sustainability
  • Critiquing and engaging with the key values, philosophies, standards and practices of the mental health sector in Australia from a biblical standpoint

Section C: Needs of people facing mental health issues (both those with mental health issues and those supporting them)

  • Role of family, friends and church in forming a support network (healthy and unhealthy supports; empowerment versus enabling)
  • Available government health services to address their needs, specific to their situation (e.g. diverse backgrounds, risk of self-harm, requirement of hospital admission)

Section D: Referral

This section guides students through the key steps in assessing when to refer, selecting appropriate services and evaluating the effectiveness of a referral.

  • Analysis of situation to determine appropriate course of action (preceded by preparing a comprehensive database of accessible resources prior to delivery of care)
  • Providing appropriate referral for people that addresses their specific issue(s) (within and across denominational and secular resources)
  • Evaluating effectiveness of a referral
  • Issues that specifically relate to working in chaplaincy or SRE (NSW), including legislative limits on these roles; appropriate referral processes that govern these roles; distinguishing between proselytising and responding to questions of faith

Section E: Advanced Pastoral Skills

Developing advanced pastoral skills in: managing complex or challenging pastoral situations; interpersonal care; creating intervention to raise awareness and provide perspective; crisis intervention; information and records management

Basic References (suggested for guidance only):

  • Carer's Recognition Act
  • Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Defendants) Act
  • Disability Services/Discrimination Acts and standards
  • Freedom of Information Act
  • Mental health acts
  • National mental health policy and plan
  • National mental health service standards
  • National practice standards for the mental health workforce
  • Occupational health and safety (OHS) standards
  • Privacy Act
  • United Nations Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental illness and the Improvement of Health Care

Available At

Units appear below when a college has scheduled the unit for current or upcoming delivery. Please check with your college directly for a complete list of units offered less regularly which may not appear below as not yet scheduled, and for various research projects and other delivery options which may be available on request.