Name
Mental Health Literacy for Coaches: The Time is Now!
Learn practical tools for supporting clients with mental health challenges
Learn at your own pace while gaining new information from leading
professionals in the coaching and mental health field.
The Mental Health Literacy course provides coaches with a baseline understanding on 5 of the most common mental health issues displayed in the population: depression, anxiety, trauma, bipolar disorder, and addiction/substance abuse.
Coaches will learn what is outside the ethical boundaries of coaching, and new information about mental health issues including depression, anxiety, trauma, substance abuse, bipolar disorder. In learning the basics on mental health literacy, you can help reduce stigma around mental health issues, facilitate growth in your clients, and make educated suggestions within the referral process.
Meet Your Course Facilitator
Shelley Carson
As a researcher and instructor at Harvard University, Dr. Shelley Carson, Ph.D. has been a consultant and expert on the topics of psychopathology, creativity, and resilience since she received her doctorate from Harvard in 2001. She also serves as Director of Education & Research of the Academy for Brain Health and Performance and is a Founding Scientist/Scholar of the Florida Gulf Coast-based Brain Health Initiative.
Read moreDetails
The course consists of six modules. Each module has videos, worksheets, scenarios for coaches to interact with, as well as quizzes and access to a course-specific IOC Discussion Based Community Group.
Introduction
In the introduction module, Dr. Shelley Carson covers an introduction to Mental Health Literacy, the difference between coaching and therapy, and the etiology of mental health disorders.
Shelley is joined by Dr. Jacques Bradwejn in a conversation about the importance of wellness in coaching, along with a discussion with Dr. Richard Shwartz and IOC Founder Margaret Moore on the role Internal Family Systems have with coaches.
Depression
In the depression module, Dr. Shelley Carson covers an introduction to depression, followed with videos including neuroscience, what coaches can do, and how to handle referrals.
Shelley’s videos are accompanied by Wisdom From a Coach videos, where IOC Directors Dr. Jeff Hull and Dr. Pamela Larde discuss how coaches can apply the wealth of information from Dr. Carson.
Anxiety
In the anxiety module, Dr. Shelley Carson covers an introduction to anxiety, along with an anxiety screening tool for coaching to use, neuroscience, and what coaches can do.
Dr. Jeff Hull and Dr. Pamela Larde return to discuss how coaches may utilize the anxiety screening tool along with other aspects fo application.
Trauma
In the trauma module, Dr. Shelley Carson talks about how trauma shows up in individuals, along with the neuroscience of trauma and what coaches can do.
Dr. Pamela Larde, and Shelley have a discussion on trauma and coaching, with specific focus on the subject of post-traumatic growth.
Bipolar
In the bipolar module, Dr. Shelley Carson covers an introduction to bipolar disorder, neuroscience, what coaches can do, and how coaches fit into a client’s mental health team.
Dr. Jeff Hull joins Shelley in a discussion around topics coaches may have questions with when it comes to working with clients who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Substance Abuse and Addiction
In the substance abuse and addiction module, Dr. Shelley Carson covers an introduction to substance abuse and addiction, along with neuroscience and what coaches can do.
Dr. Pamela Larde is joined by Ron Chapman MSW, as they discuss what coaches can do to support individuals who are working through substance abuse or addiction, and the importance of the coaches role to reduce stigma.
FAQ
How long will this course take?
This course has about twelve hours of content. Individuals who register to take the IOC’s course will be free to proceed through this content as quickly as they please.
Are there cohorts for this course?
This course is a-synchronous and has an open enrollment. You will be able to begin this course at any time in the calendar year. To accompany the course, we have a proposed itinerary and sequence that can guide you through the course and it’s modules.
Is this course completely asynchronous?
Yes, the main portion of this course is completely asynchronous. Members of the Institute of Coaching will also be able to participate with discussion groups that the IOC will host throughout the year that have topics that directly pertain to content with the mental health literacy course.
What will I learn in this course?
Individuals taking this course will learn about common mental health issues. The neuroscience and background of these issues. What tools they have at their disposal to assist individuals dealing with mental health issues. The difference between coaching and therapy and what coaches are ethically allowed to do. When, and how to refer clients to mental health professionals. How you can be a member of a client’s mental health team in partnership with psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, and other medical professionals.
What topics are covered in this course?
The modules covered in this course are: depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, substance abuse and addiction, and trauma.
Do I receive certification for this course?
This course will allow individuals to receive credits for continuing education from ICF, NBHW and Wellcoaches. Along with credits from these organizations, individuals will also receive a certificate of completion of the Institute of Coaching’s Mental Health Literacy Course.
Do I need to be an IOC member to take this course?
This course is open to both IOC members and non-members. You do not need to be an IOC member to complete this course and receive the certificate of completion. Members of the IOC will have access to additional IOC resources, some of which are not available to the general public. Along with these additional resources, IOC members will have access to IOC discussion groups.
Can I talk with other people taking the course?
Although this course is completely asynchronous, we want to provide a space to discuss, learn, and grow. Everyone deserves to have support with their mental health, and there is a lot to learn to properly support individuals who are experiencing mental health issues or a mental health crises. To support our course attendees, we have a community space available where individuals can discuss what they are learning in a closed environment with other course participants.
We encourage our course participants to enter this space and view it as a learning experience for themselves and everyone they encounter.
Who is the courses’ instructor?
The Institute of Coaching is proud to have Dr. Shelley Carson of Harvard’s Psychology Department host this course as our primary instructor.