HER Centre Australia Online Courses

Women’s Mental Health Online Short Courses

Adolescence

Midlife

Perinatal

Core objective

To upskill clinicians and health professionals to work sensitively and effectively with women experiencing mental ill-health at all life stages.

Who should take this course?

• General practitioners
• Psychiatrists
• Obstetricians/gynaecologists
• Other health professionals with expertise in women's mental health

Learning outcomes

• Describe how symptoms of complex mental health conditions present across the lifespan, including complex post-traumatic stress disorder (aka borderline personality disorder), depression, anxiety and psychosis.
• Identify risk factors and key symptoms of complex mental health conditions relevant to women across the lifespan (e.g. eating disorders and self-harm behaviour).
• Evaluate biological, psychological and social treatment approaches for crisis, early management and recovery phases of complex mental illnesses suffered by women across the lifespan.
• Compare and contrast several new treatment approaches including those based on the latest in psychoneuroendrocrinology research.
• Discuss the significant impact of past and current abuse, violence and trauma on female mental ill-health and outcomes.
• Identify special health issues and how they impact on women’s mental health, including polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), use of the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)

Accreditation

Each course (Adolescence, Midlife or Perinatal) is accredited for 5.0 continuing professional development (CPD) hours by RANZCP, RANZCOG, and RACGP. This CPD activity has also been approved by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) for 5.0 hours (per course).

Background

Mental illness has many gender-specific and age-specific characteristics that clinical practice has historically overlooked. The Online Short Course in Women’s Mental Health aims to upskill clinicians to work sensitively and effectively with women of all ages experiencing mental ill-health, and to integrate an understanding of factors such as the role of trauma and endocrinology in the development of mental illness, as well as implications for treatments.

As a key point of contact for women of all ages who suffer from complex mental health conditions, health clinicians play a critical role in early identification, risk assessment and timely intervention.

This course aims to cultivate a ‘new thinking’ approach to equip clinicians and healthcare professionals with the skills to enhance the health, mental health and wellbeing of women across the lifespan, and will also be appropriate for students studying within the health field. The courses on offer are Adolescence, Midlife, and Perinatal, with each course available for purchase separately, or as a package at discounted rates.

Course 1: Adolescence - Enroll Here

The Adolescence course is the first of the Women's Mental Health Online Short Courses, with sections including complex post-traumatic stress disorder (c-PTSD), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), depression & anxiety, psychosis, eating disorders, polycystic ovarian syndrome, the oral contraceptive pill and family violence.

Course 2: Midlife - Enroll Here

The Midlife course is dedicated to Debbie Gaunt, with thanks to the generous support of the Debbie Gaunt Foundation for the development of this Midlife course.

The Midlife course covers a broad range of illnesses that can impact women during the midlife period, including an introduction to midlife, cognition in perimenopause, perimenopausal and menopausal depression, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (c-PTSD), eating disorders, psychotic disorders, addiction and family violence.

Course 3: Perinatal - Enroll Here

The perinatal phase is an important stage of life for both mother and child, but also a time with increased susceptibility to experiencing mental illness, either as a relapse of a pre existing illness, or as an onset of a mental illness for the first time. Depression is the most common form of perinatal mental illness, but other conditions such as postpartum psychosis and other mood disorders can also present during this time.

The Perinatal course provides a comprehensive overview of the range of mental illnesses that women can experience during this phase, as well as understandings of the aetiology and underlying pathophysiology associated with them. This course also provides a detailed review and presentation of the most effective treatments and management strategies to help women recover and minimise impacts on mother-child bonding, as well as methods to better pursue treatment goals of supporting a mother's capacity to parent effectively and function in their daily lives.

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