Mental Health Considerations in Family

This course provides an introduction to mental health considerations in family justice services. Students will learn about different understandings of mental health, common mental health concerns, and how to adapt processes to increase the ability of clients to engage successfully with dispute resolution services. Students will also learn about how mental health may have an impact on parenting and family well-being, and strategies for exploring mental health concerns with families during needs assessment, pre-mediation, and mediation. The course includes information about developing parenting plans to address mental health concerns, including the advantages and disadvantages of different types of agreements and the use of interim agreements. Students will also learn about different types of community mental health supports and services, how to make referrals, and strategies for supporting parents in having conversations about mental health concerns with their children. The course also includes information about supporting clients experiencing a mental health crisis, including different types of de-escalation strategies, using the 3Rs model (Recognize-Respond-Refer) for suicide response, and self-care and debriefing practices.