Mental Health Associate A.A.S. (TP/SS)
Students who plan to major in mental health associate will be assigned the temporary major of pre-mental health associate, with POS code 560, until they are officially admitted to the mental health associate program. Students may take preparatory courses and courses that fulfill general education requirements during the waiting period. As an alternative to being assigned a temporary major, students waiting for admission to the mental health associate program may choose to major in general studies or any other open-admission program. The Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration at Takoma Park will assign a matriculated code once students are admitted to the mental health associate program.
This curriculum is designed to educate a mental health generalist who is trained for a variety of related occupations, rather than for a specific job. Students study a core of general education subjects combined with specialized courses related to a wide spectrum of human services. Part of the curriculum consists of supervised field experiences in several different kinds of agencies and institutions in the field of human services such as those in mental health, mental retardation, gerontology, drugs and alcohol rehabilitation, corrections, and school systems, and in culturally disadvantaged areas.
The mental health associate curriculum has three objectives: (1) to prepare the career student who wants a technical curriculum for immediate paid employment upon graduation, (2) to provide the transfer student with an adequate and yet flexible background so that study may be continued in the field of psychology or some allied field such as sociology or social work, and (3) to permit a student to continue with an education on a part-time basis, while being gainfully employed.
In addition to the general requirements for admission to the College, applicants will be interviewed by the coordinator of the mental health associate curriculum. Personal characteristics such as maturity, aptitude, motivation, previous experience, and evidence of ability to complete the curriculum will be considered.
In addition to the scholastic standards required of all students at the College, students in the mental health associate curriculum are expected to achieve a grade of C or better in each mental health and psychology course. Completion of all requirements for this curriculum will lead to the award of the A.A.S.
A suggested course sequence for full-time students follows; part-time students should consult an adviser.
| General Education Requirements |
| Foundation Courses |
|
|
|
English foundation |
3 |
| HE 100 |
Principles of Healthier Living (HLHF) |
1 |
| |
Mathematics foundation |
3 |
|
Speech Communication |
3 |
| Distribution Courses |
|
|
|
Arts or humanities distribution |
3 |
|
Behavioral and social sciences distribution |
3 |
|
Natural sciences distribution with lab |
4 |
| Program Requirements |
| EN 101 |
Techniques of Reading and Writing I * |
3 |
| MH 101 |
Introduction to Mental Health I |
3 |
| MH 102 |
Introduction to Mental Health II |
3 |
| MH 112 |
Group Dynamic I |
3 |
| MH 200 |
Practicum / Fieldwork † |
12 |
| MH 208 |
Activities Therapies |
3 |
| MH 213 |
Group Dynamics II |
3 |
| PY 102 |
General Psychology |
3 |
| PY 221 |
Introduction to Abnormal Psychology |
3 |
| |
PY Elective |
3 |
| |
Elective |
1 |
Total credit hours 60 |
* EN 101 if needed for EN 109/109 or general elective
† Students must complete two practicum experiences to complete this course of study, each of which is worth 6 credits. Register for MH 200 to gain credit for each fieldwork.
Program Outcomes for the Mental Health A.A.S. Degree
Upon completion of this program a student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the history of the mental health movement as it relates to human service professionals.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the current trends in the delivery of human services.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of the effective human service professionals.
- Apply interview and related skills to demonstrate that they can communicate effectively in verbal and written language.
- Synthesize skills and knowledge learned in class.
- Apply skills learned through agency paper assignment and be able to communicate effectively in verbal and written language.
- Demonstrate an understanding of group dynamics theory.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the role of art and creativity in expressive arts therapies.
- Apply non-verbal communication skills to fieldwork.
- Demonstrate an understanding of leadership skills and the application of current group methods.
- Apply skills learned from fieldwork assignment and to communicate effectively through verbal and written language.
Refer to course description pages to identify courses with prerequisites.
Courses in italics meet General Education requirements.