Many people are confronted with a broad variety of difficult issues each day. Specifically, there are categories of people who are more at risk of being affected by mental illness, psychological disorders and other social and economic difficulties. Among the vulnerable are children and youth. When working with vulnerable people, especially in chaplaincy settings, there are challenges and opportunities that we are faced with that are specific to the context of risk. How can we help them best? When do we refer? What options and resources are available to us? What legal and ethical obligations do we have when caring for vulnerable people?
The purpose of this unit is to assist students to develop an understanding of possible issues associated with vulnerable people, with a particular focus on children and youth. The aim is to learn how to use appropriate strategies, responses and pastoral care plans in the chaplaincy context.
This unit focuses on some key themes including holistic care, child to adolescent development and developmental disorders, mental health issues and illness, working with people at risk and the role of pastoral care including referral and mandatory reporting.
This unit has been written to help students address the requirements of the two mandated VET units CHCMHS001and CHCCCSO16 required by Commonwealth funded Chaplains in schools in some states. However, it is up to individual employing bodies as to what training is accepted for their employees.