Child and Adolescent Mental Wellbeing - MSc, PG Cert, PG Dip

Overview

There's growing demand for child and adolescent mental health practitioners around the world. If you're currently a BSc student, our Masters degree will enhance your knowledge, and develop your critical and analytical thinking skills.

Full description

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Careers

MSc graduates are in high demand, so you should find that your employment opportunities in health and social care and education-related industries - across public and private sectors - are strengthened following successful completion of this course.

If you plan to take the PG Cert and PG Dip, we think your employment opportunities will also be strengthened, with academic study giving you increased awareness and insight into your subject.

Modules & assessment

Children’s typical psychological development: infancy to adolescent

This module aims to develop your specialist knowledge on child and adolescent mental health focusing on an understanding of how significant the psyche development is on mental health. You’ll be able to understand and comprehend various theoretical perspectives relating to psyche development and how healthy development can have an effect on mental well-being. You’ll explore more specific aspects of human development (including language and cognitive development) and it will give you the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of more complex circumstances which affect the mental health of children. Finally, you’ll reflect on how the very early years can have an effect on child and adolescence mental wellbeing, it will help you understand possible concepts and issues including moral issues, risk and resilience.
Children’s Mental Health conditions

The module focuses on the different mental health conditions and disorders of emotional wellbeing that children and young people may present with or be diagnosed with. You will develop a comprehensive understanding of these conditions and of how the statutory and non-statutory organisations can support the child/adolescent and their family to aid recovery. You’ll also explore coping mechanisms and how these influence the child’s mental wellbeing, social communication, behavior regulation and learning disabilities. The teaching and learning will also focus on the family and how its dynamics, culture and systems can affect the child’s mental health. You’ll explore interventions and treatment in relation to mental health issues in children.
Family societal and cultural influences in children mental wellbeing

The module focuses on cultural, social and family influences on child and adolescent mental wellbeing from both a national and global perspective. The module will address a number of issues related to child and adolescent mental wellbeing and society including health promotion. You will explore the way in which mental illness is portrayed through the media and the impact this can have on interpretations of mental health and mental illness within a given society. This includes examining how mental health is represented in the news, on social media and global technology, sexuality will also be explored.
Research Proposal

This module provides a critical overview of research philosophy and the major methodological and design approaches to research in order to equip you to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of published research, whether in your specialist area or in the health, welfare and social care field.
Major Project

The Major Project is central to the Masters award and enables you to demonstrate your ability to synthesise learning from previous modules. You will use this learning as the basis for planning, conducting and writing up a research or work-based project. This is the opportunity for you to demonstrate the ability to raise significant and meaningful questions in relation to your chosen topic and a critical understanding of research methods and their relationship to knowledge. You will also be in a position to develop solutions to ethical dilemmas likely to arise in your research or professional practice and to expand existing knowledge to contribute to the development of best practice.

Assessment

Where you'll study

Your faculty

The Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care is the largest in ARU, with over 7,000 students. Our Faculty is teeming with expertise and primed to meet the demand for creating health professionals, teachers, doctors, scientists and educators for the three districts we serve: Chelmsford, Cambridge and Peterborough.

We have been training undergraduates for professional roles for over 25 years, with a reputation for quality, dedication and ambition balanced with student satisfaction.

We know that to give our students the very best experiential learning, prior to getting into the workplace, simulation is second to none, for safe, realistic, learning environments. We have invested heavily in purpose built simulated wards, science labs and skills space, to support our students through their learning.