A career in men's mental health. Where to start?

[DeeJay077]

Howdy all, I'm new to the Forum and thought this would be the right place to get some direction. I am 42 years old, a tradesman who has worked his way up to an office position, but for a long time i have felt there was supposed to be a different plan for me.

I am compasionate by nature, lending an ear to friends who are in an emotional spot of bother fills my heart. I am a bloke who has a knack for getting men to express their feelings to me which may not have been possible to them in the past. My question is, what is the best way to go about looking into courses that could lead me to employment in helping people with mental health?

Thanks in advance.

[Croix]

Dear DeeJay077~

Having a knack for bringing men out of themselves and talking about their problems is an ability all too few have. The fact you want to use this to hep others is a pretty good indication of your basic caring nature.

I would think the type of training you undertake has to be in line with what you see yourself doing. If you want to be a first line go-to person in your firm that talks to people in distress and encourages them to seek professional help then look at similar firms you hold in high regard and see what they do.

Beyond Blue features a website on this subject

https://www.headsup.org.au/training-and-resources/educational-and-training/national-workplace-program

There are various mental first aid courses of good value.

If you wish to make a professional career out of this then counseling might be an option, there are recognized courses, I believe a Diploma is the base level.

https://www.theaca.net.au/careers-and-study.php

Going further one can become a clinical psychologist which is accredited via the The Australian Clinical Psychology Association and involves a degree plus post degree work.

https://acpa.org.au

These are only the broad categories, are there any aspects that are of particular interest to you?

Croix

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi DeeJay077,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for joining us. I think Croix has offered some great support and resources already so I'll try not to double up too much on that.

I agree that it's wonderful you want to go into mental health - Croix covered this already but it's such a growing field and I think it's missing people who really do care about others.

Some of the career outcomes I can think of include

- Counsellor

- Psychologist

- Psychiatrist

- Peer Worker

- Mental Health Worker

- Social Worker

-Disability Support Worker - You can then go into people with mental illnesses

- Youth worker

- Drug and alcohol worker

There are so many options to pick from. It can be a bit overwhelming - maybe a good place to start could be thinking about if you want to study (and how much you want to commit to) and what sort of environment you'd like to end up in. The other alternative is to have a look at mental health careers near you and see what catches your eye.

rt

[SapereAude]

Hi DeeJay,

Have you considered a very short course in mental health first aid to get a basic understanding on some of the topics and issues and some of the people you are likely to work with or meet? From your post, it sounds like you have a fantastic disposition for a mental health role though.

I’ve done a couple and it’s something that has made me feel want to investigate and get further involved.

For some people though the issues could be quite overwhelming. It’s a nice introduction to see if it’s something you would like to pursue further and without the time and expense of a longer course.

[DeeJay077]

Well, thank you all so much for the responses and it has given me a lot to think about. I have put the feelers out for somewhere local who hold the mental health first aid course and they are sending me an update when a spot is available.

I work prefer a more hands on career, helping people face to face is what i would be investigating.