Become a Mental Health Ambassador - Social Work & Human Services

Social and Human Service Work Readiness Certificate of Completion: Mental Health Ambassador I/II

Students who complete the 52-hour Social and Human Service Work Readiness Certificate of Completion receive training on individual and group facilitation skills, fundamentals of the referral process, mental health crisis management, and HUSV Work Readiness wellness recovery action plans (WRAP) and qualify to receive the nationally recognized Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) certificate. A significant portion of the training covers trauma-informed self-care and successful personal/professional boundary setting. This program is required training for students in work-based learning opportunities as Mental Health Ambassadors at Berkeley City College, and a pre-requisite for the Social & Human Services Fieldwork Placement (HUSV 120B).

The MHFA credential and specific skills-training provides students with the ability to empower peers with skills to successfully identify and complete their personal goals. Participants will learn to lead peer-to-peer support groups and provide 1:1 peer-support sessions. Students who complete this program will be able to demonstrate their training has met national standards for Mental Health First Aid, and many core competencies for Peer Support Specialists, which enhances their ability to find employment in a variety of social and human service settings. Students may elect to continue their education journey with another certificate or degree program in Social Work and Human Services.

This certificate can be completed in one semester. BCC provides WiFi hotspots, Chromebooks, and text books for this program. We also have multiple student support programs to give you wrap around support.

Required Courses

HUSV 510A: Mental Health Ambassador I (first 7-week course); 100% online and self-paced; about 3 hours a week of work.

HUSV 510B: Mental Health Ambassador II (second 7-week course); meets in person for three training event days (28 hours of training, including online prep work).

Program Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the program will be able to:

Demonstrate fundamental understanding of mental health crisis management, including obtaining the Mental Health First Aid Certificate (MHFA) issues by the National Council on Mental Wellbeing.
Demonstrate awareness of trauma-informed self-care.
Demonstrate entry-level group and individual facilitation skills.

To enroll contact:

Midhun Joseph, BCC Transitions Coordinator | mjoseph@peralta.edu | TINYURL.COM/PICKMYCLASSES