Presentation as part of a larger symposium at the Canadian Psychological Association’s Annual conference:

Abstract:

Many people across health, housing and other social systems work with people experiencing concurrent disorders (CDs). However, there are few evidence-based, low- or no-cost educational resources available to support their work. The British Columbia Mental Health and Substance Use Services Centre for Learning developed a novel online learning program to enhance professional helpers’ competency in working with people experiencing CDs. The curriculum was developed in partnership of people with lived and living experience with CDs, family members, and Indigenous partners. Content development partners also included diverse helping (nurses, social workers, psychologists, researchers, physicians, etc.) and online learning development professionals. The curriculum went fully live in November 2023 and is freely accessible at no cost to any helping professional, regardless of jurisdiction. It is focused on enhancing key foundational competencies for any helper to know in order to best support people with CDs, regardless of setting (urban, rural; primary, tertiary care; physical vs more mental health-focused services). Over 1200 people have registered for accounts across diverse helping roles: admin, therapy and treatment, and clinical leadership. Program evaluation data on completion rate, satisfaction and qualitative data will be presented.