Application
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to communicate with clients requiring social and emotional support and provide information about available referral options. It provides basic skills and knowledge in social and emotional support required by those involved in face-to-face delivery of primary health care services.
This unit applies to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Workers working as part, and under the supervision, of a multidisciplinary primary health care team to provide a range of primary health care services to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities.
This unit equips Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Workers to provide support related to social and emotional wellbeing and does not infer that they are qualified counsellors.
The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand standards and industry codes of practice.
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENT | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA |
Elements define the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria specify the level of performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. |
1. Identify social and emotional needs of clients | 1.1 Use effective and culturally appropriate and safe communication skills to gain an understanding of the client’s concerns 1.2 Maintain client confidentiality at all times according to organisation procedures 1.3 Record findings according to organisation procedures |
2. Provide information about available social and emotional support services | 2.1 Provide accurate information about counselling options, which are targeted to identified individual and community needs 2.2 Adapt delivery of information as required to facilitate understanding and address need 2.3 Obtain further information as required to address identified needs 2.4 Support clients in taking a self-care approach to health, in line with individual needs and organisation and community requirements |
3. Assist clients to receive support for social and emotional wellbeing | 3.1 Consult other health professionals to clarify required care and support services, including referral to other service providers or allied health professionals 3.2 Provide immediate support to clients in crisis, in consultation with the health team and supervisor and in line with organisation procedures 3.3 Provide clients with details of social and/or emotional support service providers in line with identified needs 3.4 Offer immediate help to bereaved family members |
4. Follow up clients after accessing social and emotional supports | 4.1 Consult individual and/or community about effectiveness of support services and associated support provided 4.2 Investigate and provide additional referrals as required |
5. Apply self-care strategies | 5.1 Acknowledge limits of own personal ability, authority and role 5.2 Seek debriefing as required 5.3 Use ongoing self-care and stress management practices to manage work-related stress |
Evidence of Performance
The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job role.
There must be evidence that the candidate has:
provided three Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients with information about social and emotional support by:
- communicating effectively with client to identify specific social and emotional needs
- providing information about available support options and referring client as appropriate in consultation with client and other health professionals
- maintaining records as required
- following up counselling and/or other referred support effectiveness with client
- managing own work-related stress and applied self-care strategies, including using debriefing services
- demonstrating culturally appropriate and safe communication skills when interacting with clients and/or significant others at all times.
Evidence of Knowledge
The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role.
This includes knowledge of:
organisation policies and procedures and legislation or regulations relating to:
- client confidentiality
- referral, including various levels of urgency, and follow-up of client
- mandatory reporting
- notifiable communicable diseases
- limits of own ability and authority
- reporting procedures
- documentation
- basic knowledge of distinctions between counselling, social and emotional, and mental health support and how each relates to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities
scope of own role in providing social and emotional support
available counselling, social and emotional support services and associated referral processes
organisation policies on counselling
basic information on human psychology and mental health care
basic counselling principles
culture and spirituality issues
impacts of trans-generational trauma on individuals, families and communities around:
- identity
- loss of land
- culture
- language
- ceremony
legislative and confidentiality requirements
community views on counselling needs
self-care strategies for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker, including debriefing, own counselling and employee assistance programs
identifying and referring grief, dying and bereavement issues, such as:
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander views on death, dying, grief and bereavement as contrasted with views in non-Aboriginal communities
- stages of grief
- methods of coping with grief, dying and bereavement
- ways in which Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families may be assisted (e.g. in making funeral arrangements).
Assessment Conditions
Skills must be demonstrated working:
in a health service or centre
as part of, and under the supervision of, a multidisciplinary primary health care team
with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities.
In addition, simulations and scenarios must be used where the full range of contexts and situations cannot be provided in the workplace or may occur only rarely. These are situations relating to emergency or unplanned procedures where assessment in these circumstances would be unsafe or is impractical.
Simulated assessment environments must simulate the real-life working environment where these skills and knowledge would be performed, with all the relevant equipment and resources of that working environment.
Assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.
Assessment must be undertaken by a workplace assessor who has expertise in this unit of competency and who is:
an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker
or:
accompanied by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who is a recognised member of the community with experience in primary health care.
Foundation Skills
The Foundation Skills describe those required skills (language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills) that are essential to performance. |
Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency. |