Doctors and researchers depend on the latest scientific literature published week by week in countless different journals, but not every study can be trusted. Scientific studies are fraught with complications that can threaten their reliability, or the extent to which their results can be applied very widely. This unit will help you develop the skills necessary to critically appraise the research literature and identify sources of bias and confounding. Students will learn how cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, cohort studies and clinical trials are more or less vulnerable to these problems. Similarly, students will look at the basic design of laboratory research, and what the different types of questions are that can be asked from studies on humans, rats or brain tissue. All classes will be based on published examples of research literature and students will learn how to navigate different methods and data types. This unit will give students the confidence to read widely across the mental health field, and judge for themselves which findings can be relied upon to inform future research or medical practice.

This online unit that can be undertaken either face-to-face, fully online, or in intensive block mode, introduces the concept of clinical epidemiology and provides students with core skills in clinical epidemiology at an introductory level. The unit is aimed at clinician learners and as such some clinical experience is required. Topics covered include asking and answering clinical questions; basic and accessible literature searching techniques; study designs used in clinical epidemiological research; confounding and effect modification; sources of bias; interpretation of results including odds ratios, relative risks, confidence intervals and p values; applicability of results to individual patients; critical appraisal of clinical epidemiological research literature used to answer questions of therapy (RCTs and systematic reviews), harm, prognosis, diagnosis and screening; applicability of results to individual patients; and evidence-based use of health resources.

This unit examines a range of ethical issues within neuroscience and mental health, and how our understanding of these issues is important for research, diagnosis, treatment, and policy making. Students will not only examine how contemporary scientific practices have ethical, social, cultural and legal implications, they will also examine how ethical, social, and cultural factors can affect our understanding of neuroscience and mental health, and the underlying assumptions of researchers in these fields. The course aspires to inform future decision-makers in health, public policy, clinical settings and academia of the unique contributions and skills that biomedical ethics provides to the fields of mental health and neuroscience. Topics may include the nature of psychiatric disorders and their relationship with prevailing social and cultural factors, the implications of new technology for treatment and enhancement, the philosophical basis of the concept of mental disorder, the extent to which neuroscience can or cannot help us understand and treat mental illnesses, the relationship between researchers and public understanding of the research, the relationship between power, the psychiatric profession, and the categorisation of patients, the complex relationship between morality, mental health and the law, and whether scientific research can help us answer philosophical questions.

This unit is designed to provide participants with an introduction to the key constructs of leadership, leadership development and change management with specific reference to mental health reform in Australia. The unit will provide an overview of concepts and models of leadership and change management and an opportunity to apply these to a personal leadership development plan to embark on a service-level reform initiative. In this unit participants will gain an understanding of their own leadership attributes and developmental needs and an insight into the development of strategy, organisational level policy and governance for achieving change. These elements will provide the foundations for self-development as a leader and the development of service level change/reform initiatives.

This practically- based elective unit of study aims to provide a capstone experience for those psychiatry trainees wishing to gain experience in empirical research (quantitative or qualitative) relevant to the field of Psychiatry. This unit is to be taken over 1 semester (7 hours of field placement per week) or may be extended over 2 semesters with 3.5 hours per week field placement. Students will learn a variety of skills for acquisition, analysis and presentation of data particular to their field of interest and will write up their project as a draft research publication. Potential projects can be reviewed by students in the semester prior to commencement so that they can familiarize themselves with research conducted at the Brain and Mind Centre, including placements in clinical research groups and basic neuroscience laboratories, depending on student skills and supervisor availability. Alternatively students may consult their local training networks and propose a supervised project well prior to the commencement of the unit. Projects may contribute to the Scholarly Project for the RANZCP CBFP. Acceptance to a given project will be selective, requiring departmental approval.

This unit of study provides psychiatry trainees with an opportunity to develop effective clinical skills including the psychiatric interview, mental state examination and biopsychosocial formulation. The management of psychiatric emergencies, risk assessment and the use of mental health legislation, as well as the relevance of diagnostic neuroimaging, are explored.
This unit of study is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of how genetic and environmental risk factors affect the developing individual to generate the clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders. Students will examine psychotic and mood disorders along with along with alcohol and substance use disorders. The course covers all aspects including aetiology, phenomenology and epidemiology as well as the complexities around diagnosis and diagnostic classification systems. This will provide students with the framework on which to develop management plans for these disorders according to a biopsychosocial framework with an emphasis on psychosocial care and recovery principles. The principles of neuropsychopharmacology with a focus on antipsychotic medication, mood stabilisers, antidepressants and their potential adverse consequences are covered in depth. Students will learn from lecturers who are experts in their field and hear about exciting areas of psychiatric research in suicide prevention, e-mental health and nutrition.

This unit of study provides an introduction to two important aspects of brain and mind ageing science, neurodegenerative disorders and opportunities for neuroplasticity and human flourishing. Students will learn about the clinical presentation and pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, vascular dementia and frontotemporal dementia. Psychogeriatrics and late-life depression will also be covered, and counterbalanced with new insights about what determines successful ageing and how we can use lifestyle interventions to keep people's brains and minds fit and well throughout late life. This unit will use case studies to reinforce learning, focusing on common neuropsychological assessment methods and research methods. Students will also be introduced to the social and ethical aspects of brain and mind ageing.

Doctors and researchers depend on the latest scientific literature published week by week in countless different journals, but not every study can be trusted. Scientific studies are fraught with complications that can threaten their reliability, or the extent to which their results can be applied very widely. This unit will help you develop the skills necessary to critically appraise the research literature and identify sources of bias and confounding. Students will learn how cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, cohort studies and clinical trials are more or less vulnerable to these problems. Similarly, students will look at the basic design of laboratory research, and what the different types of questions are that can be asked from studies on humans, rats or brain tissue. All classes will be based on published examples of research literature and students will learn how to navigate different methods and data types. This unit will give students the confidence to read widely across the mental health field, and judge for themselves which findings can be relied upon to inform future research or medical practice.

This unit of study provides an overview of normal development, the formation of relational attachments, and psychological sequelae of trauma and loss. Students will examine anxiety disorders, trauma, ADHD, personality disorders, including the epidemiology, aetiology, phenomenology, management of these disorders and medicolegal considerations. In addition, there will be a focus on developing trainees' clinical skills towards a broader, well­rounded approach that involves psychosocial techniques, and working collaboratively with consumers and families in multidisciplinary and community settings. The unit will provide psychiatry trainees with foundational knowledge and skills in psychotherapeutic techniques including psychodynamic theory, supportive psychotherapy, building a therapeutic alliance and cognitive behavioural therapy. Principles of recovery­oriented practice and trauma­informed care, psychiatric ethics, history of psychiatry, rural and indigenous mental health will be studied as well as an introduction to leadership and medical management with workshops on professionalism and RANZCP MCQ practice.

This unit of study is designed for psychiatrists in training, doctors working in paediatrics and general practice and other health professionals working with children and adolescents with mental health and with their families and carers. The unit will draw on the clinical and research experience of child and adolescent psychiatrists, including those with subspecialty interest (addiction, forensic, consultation-liaison and perinatal included) from a group of professionals who work with children and young people (including paediatricians, psychologists, nurse practitioners and those working in health advocacy).
This unit provides an overview of child development and mental health from conception through adolescence, looking at key genetic and environmental factors that contribute to clinical disorder. Major psychopathologies such as mood and anxiety disorders, psychosis and neurodevelopmental disorders will be examined. Particular attention will be given to presentation across contexts, from community care to specialist inpatient and consultation settings.
A key objective of this unit is to provide students with the fundamental knowledge required to assess and formulate child, adolescent and youth psychopathology. Students will be provided with an opportunity to develop skills in the assessment of young people and their families and carers and will learn about management options for common psychiatric presentations including psychological and pharmacological treatments as well as approaches to working with families, carers and wider systems including multidisciplinary teams, education and welfare sectors.

This unit of study provides Stage 2 psychiatry trainees and other select clinicians with an opportunity to develop knowledge skills and attitudes in biopsychosociocultural approaches ConsultationLiaison CL Psychiatry and integrative medicine by exploring psychiatry at the interface with medicine and society The units approach will emphasise the interconnectedness of body brain and mind in individuals and surrounding systems Whats different about CL will be explored in this unit grounded in an understanding of the normal and dysregulated responses to stress trauma and medical illness including pain expanding Stage 1 concepts of formulation multimodal and tailormade management Principles of containment stigma and models of care in medical settings will be studied as will disorders of basic regulation sleep eating and sexual disorders We will examine psychiatry in particular settings the Perinatal period Intellectual and Developmental Disability Pain Oncology Spinal Burns Neuropsychiatry This unit will also deepen knowledge of ECT and introduce the newer biological treatments such as TMS This unit aims to enrich the trainee psychiatrists approaches to working collaboratively with consumers families treatment teams and care systems in multidisciplinary hospital and community settings Seminars will emphasise an enquiring approach based on evidence and engagement with the background medical and general communities

This unit of study will foster the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to understand, evaluate and apply a wide range of evidence-based psychotherapeutic and psychosocial interventions, including integrated service delivery systems, for individuals with mental health disorders and their families. This unit will build on the psychosocial foundations and concepts of integrated formulation and care established in the first year courses to support trainees to understand the role of the major modalities of psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions which have been shown to significantly contribute to recovery and improved outcomes in mental health. The unit offers an overview of assessment and the historical context of the development of theories and evidence, moving to frameworks of human development across the life span, expanding applied knowledge of attachment and exploring theories of learning and personality. Participants will then examine a range of specific psychological interventions aimed at different aspects of individual and systemic functioning including psychodynamic approaches, DBT, structured brief therapies, more advanced applications of CBT and group, couples, family and systems of care interventions. Teaching methods will focus on research-enhanced and case-based learning with an integrative approach, supplemented by e-learning and audiovisual resources.

This unit examines a range of ethical issues within neuroscience and mental health, and how our understanding of these issues is important for research, diagnosis, treatment, and policy making. Students will not only examine how contemporary scientific practices have ethical, social, cultural and legal implications, they will also examine how ethical, social, and cultural factors can affect our understanding of neuroscience and mental health, and the underlying assumptions of researchers in these fields. The course aspires to inform future decision-makers in health, public policy, clinical settings and academia of the unique contributions and skills that biomedical ethics provides to the fields of mental health and neuroscience. Topics may include the nature of psychiatric disorders and their relationship with prevailing social and cultural factors, the implications of new technology for treatment and enhancement, the philosophical basis of the concept of mental disorder, the extent to which neuroscience can or cannot help us understand and treat mental illnesses, the relationship between researchers and public understanding of the research, the relationship between power, the psychiatric profession, and the categorisation of patients, the complex relationship between morality, mental health and the law, and whether scientific research can help us answer philosophical questions.

This unit of study provides a comprehensive introduction to the research methods that can be used in the identification and characterisation of genetic variants underlying neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Understanding genetic variants in the context of genomic medicine is essential for patient management and predicting disease outcomes. This unit will provide students with and overview of bench to bedside genomic medicine. Students will be taught skills to identify causative and susceptibility gene variants from next generation sequencing data and shown bioinformatics tools to analyse variants. The variant information will then be considered in a diagnostic setting through the clinical application of genetic counselling for patient management and well-being. The first part of the unit will focus on statistical methods to quantify the contribution of genetic factors to complex genetic disorders in the population. The principles of genetic association will be discussed, using examples of cognitive traits and neurodegenerative disorders. The course will then discuss concepts of pedigree analysis for Mendelian neurodegenerative diseases with practical exercises in identifying candidate variants using filtering strategies of next generation sequencing data. The final part of the course will introduce a suite of bioinformatics tools and resources to generate a research report. This report will form an introduction to the genetic counselling practices required for clinical interpretation and use of information for patient-centred genomic healthcare delivery. This is a capstone unit of study that will require students to develop over the semester a scholarly piece of work using current practice bioinformatics skills and interpreting the information for a clinical setting. Over the assessments in this unit, students will identify genetic variants associated with a complex neurodegeneration disorder, map and identify possible causative genes for a Mendelian neurodegenerative disease, examine the suitability of DNA variants identified as disease candidates using bioinformatics tools, and interpret the clinical implications for the patient and their family.

This unit is designed to provide participants with an introduction to the key constructs of leadership, leadership development and change management with specific reference to mental health reform in Australia. The unit will provide an overview of concepts and models of leadership and change management and an opportunity to apply these to a personal leadership development plan to embark on a service-level reform initiative. In this unit participants will gain an understanding of their own leadership attributes and developmental needs and an insight into the development of strategy, organisational level policy and governance for achieving change. These elements will provide the foundations for self-development as a leader and the development of service level change/reform initiatives.

This practically- based elective unit of study aims to provide a capstone experience for those psychiatry trainees wishing to gain experience in empirical research (quantitative or qualitative) relevant to the field of Psychiatry. This unit is to be taken over 1 semester (7 hours of field placement per week) or may be extended over 2 semesters with 3.5 hours per week field placement. Students will learn a variety of skills for acquisition, analysis and presentation of data particular to their field of interest and will write up their project as a draft research publication. Potential projects can be reviewed by students in the semester prior to commencement so that they can familiarize themselves with research conducted at the Brain and Mind Centre, including placements in clinical research groups and basic neuroscience laboratories, depending on student skills and supervisor availability. Alternatively students may consult their local training networks and propose a supervised project well prior to the commencement of the unit. Projects may contribute to the Scholarly Project for the RANZCP CBFP. Acceptance to a given project will be selective, requiring departmental approval.

This unit offers an introduction to ultra-brief psychodynamic psychotherapy using the evidence-based approach of Psychodynamic -Interpersonal Therapy (PIT) suitable for acute and general medical and mental health practice, including as an approach to Project Air clinics, emergency department presentations, self-harm and psychosomatics. This unit is suitable for interested clinicians from a variety of backgrounds, including counselling, nursing, social work, medicine, psychiatry and psychology. The techniques generalize well to developing the therapeutic relationship. Over the semester students will be able to communicate the strong theory and RCT evidence base of this model and how this model can offer a person-centred and recovery-based approach to trauma-informed care and stepped care. Students will attend some initial training and then group supervision to support their acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and clinical skills in the clinical experience of running 2 brief psychodynamic therapies of 4-8 sessions. Students will bring cases from their workplace or allocated from an affiliated clinical program. Students will apply the basics of assessment and engagement and feeling language, using statements and developing formulations. They will demonstrate the PIT structure including the writing of a good bye letter and collaborative future planning, whether for maintenance, onreferral or further treatment.

The unit provides an extended subsequent clinical experience supported by small group supervision, begun in the unit PSTY5203, structuring learning in psychodynamic practice. The focus is on the structured conduct of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapywhich comprises assessment, initial, middle and end phases with a patient sourced from their own workplace, or another recommended institution. The therapy will consist of weekly sessions for between 10 and 20 sessions, and audio-recorded sessions will be used for supervision which will focus on the process including the micro skills of engagement and formation of the therapeutic relationship, assessment and psychodynamic formulation, identifying of affects, and emotions and facilitation of affect expression, coping strategies and habitual ways of dealing with situations and people, transference and countertransference, with trauma in mind, the use of affective language, maintenance of the frame and contract, Development in reflective practice, incorporating ethical conduct and diligent self-care is aimed for.

This unit explores the way human beings grow in sensitive and responsive relationships but are broken down by trauma - acute, chronic and complex. We begin by exploring the way early relational experiences develop personal organization and stress regulation in the infant and set up patterns of how a person rests, loves, plays and works, sometimes for a lifetime. Students will study research in human development to examine early development and healthy adaptation as the dyadic interaction known as the proto-conversation repeats thousands of times to establish of attachment states of mind and relational schemas. Patterns that foster a sense of self and those traumatic experiences that lead to dissociation and consequent disruption and constriction of the self will be described, including child sexual abuse. Students will reflect on personal and clinical experience to consider the way people adapt to stress and trauma and the ways the therapeutic relationship might mirror early relationships. We will describe the traumatic range of experience in acute and complex trauma and consider the hierarchical nature of consciousness, regulation and protection and the consequent need for a phase-based approach to trauma treatment. Students will apply the concepts to case studies within their area of practice.

This unit provides an introduction to psychodynamic psychotherapy principles, the psychodynamic model of care and how to apply these to setting up a therapeutic framework in a model of health delivery that is person-centred, recoveryfocussed and trauma-informed. This unit is suitable for graduate students studying psychology, mental health nursing, psychiatry and for interested clinicians from general medicine and allied health Students will be introduced to basic concepts in the development of self, reflective capacity, attachment theory, trauma theory and trauma-informed care and the basics of interpersonal neurobiology that underlie contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy. Students will gain a basic understanding of the psychodynamic approach to assessment and treatment and its evidence-based applications. Students will gain a basic understanding of the Conversational Model and its application to psychotherapy interventions across the continuum of care in mental health.

Candidates will work on an independent research project in an area of specific interest relevant to their master's degree. The project may take the form of analysis of an existing data set, a systematic or integrative review of the literature, a case series, survey or other project acceptable to the project supervisor. In some streams, projects may be available for students to select. It is essential, where there is the use of patient information or recruitment of patient study subjects, that appropriate ethics approval is gained from the governing body where the project will take place. The candidate will enter into a learning contract and will be guided through the steps required to plan and execute a substantial research project and prepare a scholarly work which may be a paper for publication. A candidate must enrol in a minimum of 12 credit points of project units of study in order to submit their final written work. Approval of the project and supervisor by the Program Director must be confirmed prior to commencing the project.

Candidates will work on an independent research project in an area of specific interest relevant to their master's degree. The project may take the form of analysis of an existing data set, a systematic or integrative review of the literature, a case series, survey or other project acceptable to the project supervisor. In some streams, projects may be available for students to select. It is essential, where there is the use of patient information or recruitment of patient study subjects, that appropriate ethics approval is gained from the governing body where the project will take place. The candidate will enter into a learning contract and will be guided through the steps required to plan and execute a substantial research project and prepare a scholarly work which may be a paper for publication. Where appropriate students will prepare a work suitable for publication. A candidate must enrol in a minimum of 12 credit points of project units of study in order to submit their final written work. Approval of the project and supervisor by the Program Director must be confirmed prior to commencing the project.

Candidates will work on an independent research project in an area of specific interest relevant to their master's degree. The project may take the form of analysis of an existing data set, a systematic or integrative review of the literature, a case series, survey or other project acceptable to the project supervisor. In some streams, projects may be available for students to select. It is essential where there is the use of patient information or recruitment of patient study subjects that appropriate ethics approval is gained from the governing body where the project will take place. The candidate will enter into a learning contract and will be guided through the steps required to plan and execute a substantial research project and prepare a scholarly work which may be a paper for publication. A candidate must enrol in a minimum of 12 credit points of project units of study in order to submit their final written work. Approval of the project and supervisor by the Program Director must be confirmed prior to commencing the project.