Community Mental Health Worker

The curriculum for the 16 unit CommunityMental Health Certificate of Achievement is based on the wellness and recovery model in mental health. The program trains a diverse group of individuals to provide culturally affirming mental health and wellness and recovery services in San Francisco. The program engages mental health consumers, their family members, and other interested individuals and communities. It is comprised of courses that promote the development of skills needed to become gainfully employed as a mental health worker and enhance the knowledge base of those already employed. As part of their education, students complete an internship with a local agency serving mental health consumers.

 

The curriculum infuses the recovery model in behavioral health, motivational interviewing, cultural responsiveness, computer literacy, writing skills, career planning, and person-centered strength based restorative approaches intended to support health and wellness. Instruction is tailored to meet diverse learning styles and integrates an experiential approach. Academic readiness and skills are surveyed in the introductory course.

This is an existing program which has been graduating approximately 20-25 students per academic year.  We anticipate an average of 23 students will complete the program per academic year. 

Enrollment Data Fall 2016 – Fall 2018 Required Courses for the CMHC
Course Number	No. of Sections	No. of Students
HLTH 88	2	40
HLTH 102	2	50
HLTH 103	2	47
HLTH 104	2	42
HLTH 105	2	48
HLTH 105W	N/A This course has not been offered before.

 

The goal of the Community Mental Health (CMH) Certificate is to provide students with foundational knowledge and skills required for entry level employment in community mental health, behavioral health care and related settings with an emphasis on serving consumers of mental health services.

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

·      Evaluate information on wellness and recovery promotion.

·      Formulate wellness and recovery strategies to work with members of diverse communities.

·      Demonstrate proficiency in entry-level skills including care brokerage, advocacy, outreach, systems navigation, documentation, and behavioral health coaching and mental health counseling.

·      Perform behavioral, ethical, and professional skills necessary for employment in the mental health field.

To enroll in the Community Mental Health Certificate, students must complete a pre-requisite course – Health 91D: Introduction to Wellness andRecovery in Mental Health – with a C or higher grade.

Total number of units = 16

Note that students will complete a CMH Certificate Passport detailing an individual plan for completing the requirements of the CMH Certificate.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
HLTH 102	Helping Relationships: Recovery and Wellness	3	S1
HLTH 103	Community and Group Forums	3	S2
HLTH 104	Internship Preparation and Professional Conduct	3	S2
HLTH 88	Family Systems	3	S3
HLTH 105 HLTH 105W	Professional Skills for Community Mental Health Workers CMH Internship Placement	2 2	S3 S3

Course	Units	Sequence
HLTH 102: Helping Relationships: Recovery and Wellness	3	The first in the series of foundational classes
HLTH 103: Community and Group Forums	3	The second in the series of foundational classes
HLTH 104: Internship Preparation and Professional Conduct	3	Concurrent with HLTH 103
HLTH 88: Family Systems	3	The third in the series of foundational classes
HLTH 105: Professional Skills for Community Mental Health Workers	2	Concurrent with HLTH 88
HLTH 105W: CMH Internship Placement	2	Concurrent with HLTH 105
Total	16

 

For over 9 years, CCSF has offered the Community Mental Health Certificate (CMH). It was established in 2009 as a result of Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act and designed to train, as peer counselors, consumers of mental health services and family members. Currently, the CMH is one of its kind and has been funded by the San Francisco Department of Public Health since its inception. The CMH has created a Peer Career Mentor Unit (PCM), staffed by a faculty member and four student interns, to support students in achieving their educational goals. Local employer partners and the Department of Public Health rely on the program to produce qualified skilled workers to fill entry level positions in the mental health field of peer providers. Our students intern at approximately 20 available placement sites and are employed throughout the San Francisco systems of behavioral health care, both public and private sectors. Labor market, professionals, advocates, and educators have been addressing the critical shortage in the workforce of mental health care professionals and paraprofessionals with training in peer counseling and community mental health. In particular, they have noted the need for culturally competent workers with training in peer counseling and behavioral health coaching, wellness and recovery interventions, group facilitation, crisis management, knowledge of the broad spectrum of community services and supports, and familiarity with public entitlement programs for consumers of mental health services and family members.

There are no similar programs at any community college in the wider Bay Area. Students may study similar competencies and complete degrees in psychology at the associate level at CCSF or bachelor’s level at San Francisco State University and the University of California, Berkeley. However, undergraduate degrees in psychology are primarily theoretical in nature, whereas the CMH is tailored specifically for applied practice in community based mental health settings.