This course is for practitioners working in mental health, or alcohol and other drugs services. The course consists of seven hours of formal learning, five hours of recommended self-learning and an online assessment which is estimated to take two hours to complete.

As a nationally accredited course, it is monitored to ensure it meets current industry expectations for observing and documenting the MSE. This means that the course reflects the latest evidence-based practice methods and knowledge as well as industry best practice standards for competent performance. Unlike a ‘workshop’ style course where learners take away from the experience what is relevant to them and their practice, competency-based training specifies what competent performance is. This means that learners will receive training in all essential knowledge and skills to satisfactorily achieve competency.

More information about this course is available in the handout: 10881NAT Course in Observing and Documenting the Mental State Examination - Course handout

Unique Student identifier (USI)
Provision of a USI is a Federal Government requirement since 1 January 2015, for all participants of accredited training within Australia. To obtain a USI register as a student via www.usi.gov.au

“Supervision is a formal professional relationship between two or more people in designated roles, which facilitates reflective practice, explores ethical issues, and develops skills.” (Australian Clinical Supervision Association, 2015; cited in Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Services 2023).

This two-day workshop will prepare you for your supervisor role. It is designed for staff from all disciplines including non-clinical areas such as the peer workforce. During this workshop you will explore ways to enhance your supervisor skills using a variety of strategies and tools. Several high-quality skills demonstration videos are shown that model the core elements of good supervision practice. As you deepen your understanding of these elements you will have opportunities to practise delivering supervision that is culturally sensitive.

To be able to progress and enrol in this training you must pass a pre-enrolment screen that requires you to:

• meet the minimum requirements to be a Supervisor as set out in the Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drug Services, 2023
• complete QC60 Introduction to Supervision eLearning

There are resources provided to help you answer the questions.

This screen ensures that everyone who attends our QC4 Supervisor training comes with a similar understanding of the key concepts, regardless of previous experience and/or training in supervision.

Note: this course is a pre-requisite for those wishing to complete QC12 Supervising Supervisors.

More information about this course is available in the handout: QC4 Supervisor - Course handout

This one day workshop aims to promote evidence-based clinical risk assessment and management practices that improve consistency in the assessment and management of consumer risks. The workshop provides participants with skills to gather and identify risk factors relevant to an individual, and complete an analysis of risks weighed against mitigating factors. Designed for mental health practitioners of all levels of experience, professionals from other services may also find this workshop highly relevant when working with people experiencing mental health problems.

More information about this course is available in the handout: QC9 Critical Components of Risk Assessment and Management- Course handout

Violence Risk Assessment and Management Framework - Induction Video

This video introduces and describes the Queensland Health Violence risk assessment and management framework – mental health services (the Framework). The video presents information about the three-tiered approach to violence risk assessment and response within the Framework, the purpose and principles of the Framework, how the Framework will be implemented, and clinical roles and responsibilities.

The video runs for approximately 20 minutes.

A transcript of the video can be downloaded here.

This one-day course aims to provide clinicians with the core knowledge and skills required to undertake a comprehensive assessment with a person accessing mental health and related specialised services. Utilising a case-based approach, the course steps participants through identifying and gathering relevant information for each component of the assessment. Based on their clinical assessment of the case study, participants will then be guided through the development and documentation of a clinical formulation and management plan. This course focusses on the foundations of comprehensive assessment, formulation and planning for mental health, alcohol and other drugs service clinicians and is most suitable for clinicians in the early years of clinical practice or those wishing to refresh their practice.

Note: the course includes a formal online assessment which is completed by the participants after attending the one day course. Participants have two weeks to complete the assessment.

It is highly recommended that participants also complete an optional, complimentary eLearning course QC55 which focusses on clinical formulation and planning.

More information about this course is available in the handout: QC14 Fundamentals of Assessment, Formulation and Planning - Course handout

(Refresher for QC9 Critical Components of Risk Assessment and Management)

This 4-hour refresher course provides clinicians with an opportunity to update their risk assessment and management skills. It is an ideal opportunity to apply practical skills using a case scenario and is delivered via an online classroom using a Zoom meeting platform, making it accessible for people across Queensland. Learners will connect via a computer/laptop or other device to join the workshop – no travel necessary!

In addition to refreshing the thorough identification of risk factors, the course reinforces the importance of using informed professional judgement to develop risk summaries that effectively communicate the weighing up of identified risk and protective factors. The course uses comparative language and prevention-oriented approaches to formulation. There is a key emphasis on the development of treatment plans guided by the individual needs of the consumer, with a recovery-oriented approach.

Note: This course is not a substitute for attending the full day QC9 Critical Components of Risk Assessment and Management. Participants are expected to have previously completed the QC9 workshop, or QC54 Foundations of Risk Assessment and Management eLearning, additionally have applied clinical practice knowledge.

More information about this course is available in the handout: QC19 Risk Refresher - Course handout

Distinctly different to our other training courses, the QC31 SSYP course is aimed to target youth workers - It bridges the gap between clinical training and more general crisis support training.

This one day course is designed to provide participants with the skills to identify young people at risk of suicide and gain practical skills to ask directly about suicide.

More information about this course is available in the handout: QC31 Supporting a Suicidal Young Person (SSYP) - Course handout

(adapted from QC14 Fundamentals of Assessment, Formulation and Planning)

Delivered via online classroom, this interactive course takes place over 2 two, four-hour sessions (session one and session two) making it accessible for clinicians across Queensland. Learners will connect via a computer/laptop or other device to join the workshop – no travel necessary.

The course aims to provide clinicians with the core knowledge and skills required to undertake a comprehensive assessment with a person accessing mental health and related specialised services. Focusing on the foundations of comprehensive assessment, formulation and planning for mental health, alcohol and other drugs service clinicians, the course is most suitable for clinicians in the early years of clinical practice or those wishing to refresh their skills.

Session one (four hours) utilises a case-based approach which steps participants through identifying and gathering relevant information for each component of the assessment.

Session two (four hours) utilises the case introduced in session one and draws upon learners’ clinical assessment of the case study. Learners are guided through the development and documentation of a clinical formulation and management plan.

More information about the course content including anticipated learning outcomes, can be found in the QC14 course handout: QC14 Fundamentals of Assessment, Formulation and Planning - Course handout

(Adapted from the non-clinical intervention training QC31 Supporting a Suicidal Young Person)

Delivered via online classroom, this interactive course takes place over two, four-hour sessions (part one and part two).

Bridging the gap between clinical (mental health) training and more generalist crisis support training, this course will provide staff with increased confidence, tools and skills to support a suicidal young person.

This is non-clinical training; Child and youth mental health practitioners please refer to QC18: SPS:C course.

DDQC2: EARS has been designed to develop core clinical competencies and practices that align with the training element of the Zero Suicide framework and is currently being rolled out across Zero Suicide sites across Queensland.

Designed in collaboration with the Gold Coast Hospital and Health service, EARS explores suicide risk and represents a philosophical shift in the treatment of suicidality within Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs services. This includes a shift away from a focus on prediction, towards a framework for prevention, and a shift away from clinician orientated treatment of illness, towards a collaborative process of engagement and care planning that conceptualises suicide as a behaviour that requires specific targeted intervention.

EARS presents a number of conceptual models for understanding suicidal behaviours that can be applied to individuals across the lifespan.

The blended learning course comprises of two components - beginning with eLearning modules (part 1), and concluding with a full day face-to-face workshop (part 2).

DDQC2 EARS is aimed at both new clinicians commencing clinical practice and experienced practitioners seeking to update and consolidate their practice framework with contemporary understanding of supporting suicidal people.

Decommissioned March 2025

More information about this course is available in the handout: QC2 Engage, Assess, Respond to, and Support Suicidal People - Course handout

This eLearning module introduces the strengths model of recovery and is aligned with Queensland Health's recovery-focused strategic goals and standards. By identifying an individual’s strengths, the treating team and the client can develop a holistic care plan that sets achievable recovery goals together. Resources, including the Strengths Assessment Tool, are provided to assist workers in embedding the approach into practice.

Note: This eLearning is a required pre-requisite for those intending to progress to the QC24 Working with Strengths in Recovery full day workshop.

As a clinician working in mental health, it is important to know about cognition and how it can impact functioning. Cognitive difficulties can significantly impact a person's ability to perform day to day tasks which can affect longer term recovery. This eLearning course is designed to provide mental health clinicians with an introduction to the cognitive difficulties that people with a mental illness may face and identify some strategies and therapies that can support the person. Core topics of cognition and function, assessment and intervention are covered. Targeted to clinicians working in mental health settings, it is suitable for both experienced clinicians and those new to practice. It is self-paced and takes approximately two (2) hours to complete.

A Police Advice and Intervention Plan (PAIP), previously known as a Police and Ambulance Intervention Plan, is a plan developed by mental health clinicians that provides specific information and strategies regarding a consumer to inform and assist the Queensland Police Service (QPS) to mediate a mental health event involving a consumer in the community. 

This eLearning course provides a comprehensive and interactive overview of the founding principles of formulation and intervention planning. Throughout the course the learner receives information which is then applied to a case study. The clinician’s thinking process is made explicit throughout the module, in order to support the learner’s own development.

In the Formulation section of the course, the 5P approach to formulation is described and then applied. A focus on understanding and describing links between various factors of the formulation is demonstrated in order to improve clinical understanding.

In the Intervention Planning section, the process of utilising a person’s individual recovery goals within a shared formulation, to co-create clinical goals and intervention strategies, is explained and examples provided. Foundational principles of intervention planning (e.g. SMARTER strategies) are also described and applied.

This course complements the face-to-face course QC14 Fundamentals of Assessment, Formulation and Planning, however is not a compulsory part of that course.

This eLearning course is designed to provide information to support clinicians working with consumers at risk of becoming violent or aggressive; and is based on Queensland Health policy, including the Assessing and Responding to Violence (ARV) Framework (the Framework), formerly known as the Violence risk assessment and management (VRAM) framework.. It is useful to any clinician working with individuals who may be at risk for exhibiting violence or aggression.

Specifically, this course will furnish you with knowledge regarding practical elements of working with violence risk in a Queensland Health context including understanding how to apply the Framework, and how to use the Violence Risk Assessment and Management (V-RAM) tool. Key concepts related to the assessment of violence risk are covered, including the principles and components of information gathering (evidence based risk factors), collection of collateral information, information sharing, and strategies to overcome common barriers. Strategies for conceptualising assessment information are demonstrated, in order to write a useful risk summary. A suggested template is provided to help guide your thought process in the workplace. Risk management planning is covered next, discussing how to ensure risk management plans are linked to risk summaries, suggested intervention strategies for common violence risk factors, how to distinguish between long-term and short-term risk management strategies, consideration of referrals to specialist forensic services, and reassessment of risk. Throughout the eLearning course, vignettes are provided to illustrate the application of content.

 Update 14 June 2024

Notification was provided by the Chief Psychiatrist in April 2024 that the name of the Framework has changed from the Violence Risk Assessment and Management (VRAM) Framework to the Assessing and Responding to Violence (ARV) Framework. Training materials and documents will continue to refer to the Framework as previously until course materials are reviewed and updated. The name of the tool used at Tier 2 level continues to be called the Violence Risk Assessment and Management (VRAM) tool.

Note: This eLearning is the pre-requisite to QC30 Violence Risk Assessment and Management training.

This online awareness package communicates the key issues addressed in the 2016 Sexual Health and Safety Guidelines for mental health, alcohol and other drug services. It is designed as a tool for Hospital and Health Services to use in the orientation of new staff as well as local training programs, especially those focusing on risk assessment, care planning and physical health.

This program is made up of a series of webinars and two eLearning modules on topics such as assessment, formulation, diagnosis, care planning and care review.  The information contained in these recordings has been provided by Clinical Excellence Queensland, Insight, Dovetail and the Learning Centre.  Some of the recordings are informational while others demonstrate how to complete documentation, apply the principles of comprehensive care in multidisciplinary teams and provide comprehensive care in your practice.