The project aimed to make available a curriculum with corresponding Open Educational Resources (OERs) for the continuous professional development of mental health workers, to address the emerging occupational & skills needs related to the provision of ICT-enabled remote counselling services. The project’s specific objectives are to: 1. Document the skills required for providing online, remote mental health services 2. Define learning outcomes for a C-VET course for mental health workers on effective remote mental health services provision 3. Design, test and deliver a sector-validated online course for mental health workers to support digital, organizational and communication skills acquisition 4. Provide ready to use tools for mental health workers to facilitate the roll-out and support the provision of remote counselling services.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted mental health services across the EU, increasing demand for care as people faced isolation, loss of income, anxiety and bereavement. Despite support for telehealth services, the mental health sector was reluctant to use ICT-based counselling due to a lack of trained staff able to conduct effective online sessions. This created a gap between the increased demand for support and the capacity of mental health workers. The lack of training in remote mental health care limited the ability of workers to acquire the necessary skills. Strengthening both initial and continuing vocational education and training (VET) in this field is essential. European mental health workers need to develop technical skills (e.g. using digital platforms), organisational skills (e.g. creating a comfortable environment) and communication skills (e.g. communicating effectively online) to deliver optimal online consultations. Since 2021, there has been progress in training mental health professionals for remote services, but comprehensive and continuous training is still crucial to fully bridge the skills gap.