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The University of Edinburgh: Advanced Social Work Studies (Mental Health Officer Award)

Institution The University of Edinburgh View institution profile
Department School of Social and Political Science
Web https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying
Study type Taught

Summary

This programme is the postgraduate qualification for qualified/registered social workers wishing to practice as mental health officers (MHOs). It has been designed and delivered in partnership with 12 local authorities in the East of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh.

In this programme, you will focus upon the role of the MHO in relation to relevant Scottish legislation. In addition to the taught elements, you will undertake two periods of assessed MHO practice.

Under Section 32(2) of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, local authorities have a duty to appoint and provide training for MHOs to undertake statutory responsibilities, enshrined in legislation, currently:

  • the 2003 Act

  • the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000

  • the Criminal Procedures (Scotland) Act 1995

The programme also prepares MHOs to integrate knowledge of other relevant legislation, including:

  • the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007

Its primary aim is to provide the Advanced Social Work Studies (Mental Health Officer Award) in partnership with the East of Scotland MHO Award Partnership.

Further information

Mental health is a highly contested field and there have been significant recent advances in how it is understood and who gets to define what it actually is.

In reflecting these developments, the Mental Health Officer Programme draws on a wide range of perspectives. It benefits from contributions from people with lived experience of mental distress and the psychiatric system, including those who have been made subject to compulsory measures, such as detention in hospital.

These provide you with invaluable insights in figuring out what effective mental health officer (MHO) practice might be. These are further complimented by inputs from a range of professionals, including:

  • MHOs

  • psychiatrists

  • psychologists

  • advocacy workers

This breadth of views and experience encourages you to develop a critical appreciation of the role. It also ensures the programme keeps up to date with changes in law, policy and practice.

Postgraduate Certificate - PgCert

Edinburgh University

Edinburgh. Extraordinary futures await.

The University of Edinburgh is one of the world's top universities, consistently ranked in the world top 50, and placed 34th in the QS World University Rankings 2026.

Our position as one of Britain’s leading research universities was reaffirmed by the results of the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). The University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s top research-intensive universities, ranked 4th in the UK for research power (Times Higher Education, Overall Ranking of Institutions), with 90% of our research activity classified as world leading or internationally excellent in the 2021 Research …

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