Lesson 3: Is KVCC's Mental Health Program the right path for me?


Attention

Click HERE to visit the KVCC website for the Mental Health Programs!

We currently have two programs:

Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician in the Community Certification (MHRT/C)

Associates Degree in Applied Science in Mental Health (which includes the MHRT/C)


Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

  • Identify the different options for certification and graduation in the Mental Health programs at KVCC.
  • Identify the changes that are in process in regard to the MHRT/C certification.
  • Identify the course options for MHRT/C certification and potential "stacked certificates."
  • Discuss the m-Learning initiative.
  • Relate your understanding of and commitment to the program to your Academic Advisor.

Teaching

Orientation to the Mental Health Program

Since you are taking this course it may be assumed that you already know a lot about the Mental Health Program, but it is always good to make sure that we are all on the same page!

History of the Mental Health Program (MHT)

  • In 1990, a class action lawsuit was filed against the State of Maine due to overcrowding, poor conditions, and the deaths of 10 residents within the State of Maine's psychiatric hospitals (then call Maine's Mental Institutions).
  • The resulting court judgment from the lawsuit against the State has become known as the Consent Decree (click on link for more information). The Consent Decree mandated that training be provided for community mental health providers so patients with mental illness, who were being released from the psychiatric hospitals, would receive good, high quality care when they returned to their home communities.
  • The Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician levels of certification were created as part of this process. These certifications have evolved into the Mental Health Rehabilitaiton Technician Level 1 (MHRT-1) and the Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician in the Community (MHRT/C) certifications we know today. Current this certification process is managed by the The Center for Learning, Cutler Insitute for Health and Social Policy, USM Muskie School of Public Service (website: https://muskie.usm.maine.edu/cfl/MHRTCOverview.html).
  • Kennebec Valley Technical College (the former name for KVCC) began to offer a Certificate Program consisting of the 10 core competency classes for the MHRT/C and also offered trainings leading to the MHRT-1.
  • In the Spring of 2006, Dr. Mark Kavanaugh led a proposal to formalize the program as the Associates in Applied Science (AAS) in Mental Health which was accepted and that began the program in its current course structure.
  • Beginning in 2012, a concerted effort was made to develop online versions of all the required Mental Health courses.
  • In 2014, KVCC applied for, and was awarded, a workforce development grant through the federal Department of Labor that included funding for the enhancement and development of three programs at KVCC: Medical Assisting, Sustainable Construction and Mental Health. This is called the TAACCCT IV Grant.
  • With this grant we were able to hire a new and dedicated Faculty/Program Coordinator, Dr. Wendy St. Pierre, and a Student Navigator, Roberta Santilli, who is also the Student Navigator for the other two programs within the grant. The grant end date is March 31, 2018 so Dr. St. Pierre will be working with the other grant staff to complete the final grant delvierable expectations.
  • Other deliverables in the grant include:
    • Fostering a deeper connection to local area mental health agencies for program review.
    • Development of transfer agreements with 4-year institutions.
    • Review and update of the existing curriculum.
    • Enhancement of online course materials.
    • Enhanced workforce preparedness skill development embedded in the program (the m-Learning Initiative described below.)
  • In 2015, the Muskie School of Public Service was in the process of revising the MHRT/C Learning Outcomes which would change the entire curriculum for the MHRT/C. The faculty at KVCC have been awaiting notification from them when they would be rolling out the revised expectations. In the summer of 2017 we were notified that the new curriculum will be starting in the Fall of 2019. We expect that our students will be in various stages of program completion and will work individually with each student to help them finish their required courses since there will be some years of curriculm overlap (offering the old classes as well as the new classes).

Programs of Study at KVCC

KVCC offers to different programs of study:

  1. The MHRT/C Certificate program (consisting of ONLY the required courses for the MHRT/C and the Mental Health Seminar)
  2. The Associates of Applied Science in Mental Health (which includes the MHRT/C courses and a set of other courses, General Educaiton classes like math, science and English that leading to the Associates degree)

Click HERE to visit the KVCC website that describes these two options.

Course Offerings

In order to help you get your certifications and complete your degree in a timely fashion, KVCC offers all of the MHRT/C courses in both Face-to-Face and Online modalities.

All of the classes are offered Online in BOTH the Fall and Spring semesters (with SOME offerings in the Summer). For Summer 2018, we will be offering MHT112 Crisis Intervention and MHT218 Substance Abuse Counseling. Both will only be offered online.

Each course at KVCC has a code and each part of it has meaning:

For example this course is labeled either MHT101-OLA or MHT101-OLB. The MHT stands for courses offered by the Mental Health Program. The 101 indicates the course number. Classes labeled in the 100's are considered be appropropriate for college level freshman, a person's first year of college. Classes labeled in the 200's tend to indicate those courses are more appropriate for second year college students, college sophomore. If you were attending a 4 year college, instead of a two year college, you would also see classes labeled 300's and 400's. Graduate schools (master's degree programs) have classes labeled 500's and 600's.

For our program all of the 100-level courses (those needed for the Provisional MHRT/C) are offered Face-to-Face in the FALL semester. All of the 200-level courses (those needed for the Full MHRT/C) are offered Face-to-Face in the SPRING semester. Even though half of our classes are labeled 200's there is no designated sequence for these courses in our program. A student could begin with our highest numbered 200 level course, MHT226, and that would be fine to take during one's first semester with us. We use the 100 and 200 labels to designated the courses required for the provisional vs. the courses required for the full certification.

MHRT/C Certification

We might assume that most of you know what the MHRT/C is, but let's be sure! MHRT/C stands for "Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician in the Community", and the "Community" part means that this is a certification for the professional work that is done in the community, not in the hospitals or institutions, with individuals who have severe and persistent mental illness.

At this point, prior to the roll out of the new curriculum, the MHRT/C is obtained when students demonstrate competency in 10 areas/domains. These 10 domains are represented by the 10 three credit classes in the KVCC program.

The Muskie Center for Learning is the organization who oversees the Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician in the Community (MHRT/C) Certification process for the State of Maine.  They are in the process of revising many of the components associated with the certification.  The information below summarizes some of the current processes and areas where there will be changes.

MHRT/C Course Requirements and Curriculum Changes

Currently, as of Spring 2018, a student needs to take, and pass with a grade of C or better, a series of ten designated courses (each labeled with MHT) to receive their MHRT/C.  Once a student has completed the first five classes (designated by course codes that begin with 100 and noted with an * below) then they can apply for a provisional certification that allows them to work for two years in the mental health field as an MHRT/C while they are completing their remaining five courses.  Once a student has completed all ten of these classes they can apply for their full MHRT/C Certification through the Muskie Center for Learning. If a student is in the MHRT/C certificate program and has compled all 11 MHT classes then they are eligible for their MHRT/C from the Muskie Center for Learning and are eligible to graduate from KVCC at the completion of their certificate. If a student is an Associate's Degree in Applied Science (AAS) student, then the student is eligible to apply for their full MHRT/C certification after completion of the 10 required MHT classes. They will then be eligible for graduation with their diploma once all of the MHT and General Educaiton courses are completed.

The current MHT Program curriculum from Spring 2018 through Summer 2019:

MHT104: Community Mental Health *
MHT 110: Interviewing and Counseling *
MHT 112: Crisis Identification and Intervention *
MHT 124: Psychosocial Rehabilitation *
MHT 125: The Changing Workplace *

MHT 214: Incest, Sexual Abuse, and Trauma
MHT 216: Mental Health and Aging
MHT 218: Substance Abuse Counseling
MHT 220: Case Management
MHT 226: Vocational Aspects of Disability

(*courses designated with * indicate the 5 required courses for the MHRT/C Provisional Certification)

If a student has not completed all of the required courses above by the end of summer semester 2019 then that student will need to work one on one with their Faculty Advisor to make a plan to complete the required courses as soon as possible.  The courses listed above will be available online from Fall 2019 through Summer 2020 then they begin to be phased out.  Students need to be monitoring their progress through the Mental Health Certificate or Associates Degree Program so they can be proactive with their Advisor regarding these timelines.

Starting Fall 2019, all new students will need to take a series of eight courses (called competency domains by the Muskie Center for Learning) to complete their MHRT/C.  For a provisional certification, a student will need to take the required three courses and then one more course of their choice from the remaining five.  Once the three required courses and one more are completed then the student can request a provisional certification through the Muskie Center for Learning.  The three required courses are designated with a * below. 

The MHT Program curriculum beginning in September 2019:

MHT105: Behavioral, Psychological, and Rehabilitation Interventions*
MHT220: Community Integration and Inclusion*
MHT130: Ethics and Professional Conduct*

MHT214: Trauma and Resiliency
MHT125: Cultural Competency
MHT230: Policy Knowledge
MHT240: Mind-Body Connection
MHT226: Vocational Support

Once a student has completed all eight of these classes they can apply for their full MHRT/C Certification through the Muskie Center for Learning.
Students also need to complete an online training module called Maine’s Mental Health System 101: An Introduction to Our History, Values, Services, and Roles.  This online module will be embedded in MHT101: Mental Health Seminar.  Once the online training module is completed the student will be prompted to print a certificate of completion.  After September 2019, applicants will be required to provide a copy of this certificate of completion as part of their application materials. 

MHRT/C Provisional or Full Certification Application Process

Once a student has completed their MHRT/C courses this is the process they need to take to request a Provisional MHRT/C Certificate or a Full MHRT/C Certificate:

  1. Student needs to request an Official Transcript from KVCC.  The transcript should be sent to you but NOT OPENED by you.  Having the envelope sealed and signed/stamped by the Registrar on the back is what makes it official. Once the envelope is opened, it is no longer an official transcript.  To request an Official Transcript from KVCC:
  2. Student needs to fill out the Application for MHRT/Community Certification.  The application can be found on the Muskie Center for Learning webpage: http://cfl-muskie.org/index.php/documents-and-forms#formsMHRT
  3. As a student at KVCC, you are requesting certification in section VI of the form, Applying for Provisional or Full MHRT/Community through Courses or Workshops.  You will check the appropriate courses completed based on if you are requesting Provisional or Full Certification. Please be aware that if you are requesting Provisional Certification then you have a two year timeframe in which you need to complete the other five (or after September 2019, the other four) required courses to apply for your Full certification.
  4. You will mail this completed form as well as the official transcript (still sealed in its envelope) to the Muskie address listed on the bottom of the application form.
  5. After September 2019, applicants will be required to provide a copy of this certificate of completion as part of their application materials. 
  6. The Muskie staff will review your application and transcript then issue the certification.

MHRT/C Certification Renewal Proces

Starting in January 2018 all MHRT/C Certificates will be valid for two years.  The certificate will have an issue date and an expiration date two years from date of issue.  During that two-year period, the certificate holder is expected to participate in trainings, called continuing education, to stay current with the trends in the field.  They need to participate in 18 hours of continuing education in those 24 months. Four of the 18 required continuing education hours need to be a training on ethics.  At the time of renewal, you will need to validate that you have completed the required 4 hours of ethics training and 16 hours of training related to the eight competency domains (Behavioral, Psychological, and Rehabilitation Interventions; Community Integration and Inclusion; Ethics and Professional Conduct; Trauma and Resiliency; Cultural Competency; Policy Knowledge; Mind-Body Connection; Vocational Support).  Continuing education can be validated by keeping a folder of the certificates you receive at the end of each training.  You can then make copies of these to validate your completion of the required continuing education. 

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

If a student comes to KVCC with significant experience in the mental health field in one or more of the domain areas, then the student should talk with their Faculty Advisor to determine if their experience could be assessed under our Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) process.  A student could be issued college credit for a specific domain area instead of needing to take the class/course.  If a student enters our program with their Mental Health Rehabilitation Certificate – Level 1 (MHRT-1) then that student could be eligible for up to three college credits based on the trainings they have already completed.  If a student enters our program with one or more of the MHRT/C courses completed, many years of experience in the mental health field, their Provisional MHRT/C or their Full MHRT/C then that student could be eligible for anywhere from 3 to 30 credits depending on the courses already completed or the experience they have.  This process is done on an individual basis between the student and their Advisor and needs to be requested by the student. 

Mental Health, Learning and Technology

Across the Department of Social Sciences, of which the Mental Health Program is a part, there is a deep integration of technology into the classroom. All the courses in the Department utilize our Learning Management System (Blackboard) to support their classes, Face-to-Face and Online.

Research by the Mental Health Faculty has revealed that the Mental Health workplace is becoming increasingly dependent on Mobile Technology. Our work is more often done in the "field" (in people's homes, on the street, etc.). To best prepare our students for this mobile workplace, we have instituted the m-Learning Initiative. The M stands for mobile so it is the Mobile Learning Initiative.

m-Learning in Mental Health

The m-Learning Initiative began in the Spring of 2016. Essentially, we have modified our course materials, teaching methods, and student expectations to incorporate the use of mobile technology in all aspects of the program.

The projected outcomes of this initiative are three-fold:

  1. Innovative teaching and learning methods that are more engaging and result in better assessment of learning.
  2. Reduced overall cost of attending college for our students.
  3. Better preparation for the mobile workplace through the integration of mobile technology skills in the classroom.

Click HERE to visit the KVCC website page on this innovative program.


Assessment

Lesson 3 Quiz

Please answer all of the questions in this quiz. They relate to the Lesson and any links within the Lesson. This quiz will allow you two tries. If you do not like your grade from attempt one you can go in and take it again.

Lesson 3 Discussion A

Review MHRT/C curriculum changes explained in this lesson. Post and discuss any questions you might have about these changes and consider how these changes may affect you and the implications regarding your targeted graduate date. This is also a great opportunity to ask questions of your instructor and your peers about these changes.

Lesson 3 Discussion B

Review the m-Learning related material in this lesson. Post and discuss any questions you might have about the initiative. This is a great opportunity to ask about the details of this initiative.

Lesson 3 Assignment

Mental Health Understanding and Commitment Survey

This is a survey that we have created outside of this course to gather data from each of you on your understanding of the expectations of our program. The results of this survey can be accessed by your Advisors (Dr. Wendy St. Pierre and Roberta Santilli) for review.

You are required to participate in this survey as a function of this Lesson. Once we have verified your completion of this survey, we will contact your instructor and they will issue you a grade of 100 on this assignment.