Counting on U

What is Counting on U?

Deakin Business School’s Counting on U (CoU) is a centre of excellence in the promotion of wellbeing in accounting, bookkeeping and small business.

CoU training courses upskill accounting professionals by combining primary prevention strategies (like client relationship building and supportive leadership) with the early intervention approach of Mental Health First Aid^® in terms of preventing mental health conditions from becoming more serious.

These courses were designed based on:

• A growing body of evidence showing that financial stress can affect the mental health of business owners, and that accountants and business advisers are in a unique position to support small business clients’ wellbeing;
• Those in managerial/supervisory positions, or are business owners employing staff, play a vital role in protecting the mental health of their team members
• The importance of supporting your own wellbeing whilst you look after others.

Training Products

Client Relationships + Mental Health First Aid (MHFA®)

This interactive online training course equips participants with the tools and skills to build trust and better support colleagues and clients facing mental health issues.

It requires a total time commitment of 12 hours, consisting of:

• Client relationship training module (2hrs): provides participants with a useful framework to identify and refine interpersonal skills needed to have empathetic, often difficult, conversations about mental health and financial wellbeing. Some of the difficult conversations explored include deep-diving into underlying issues; handling verbal aggression; handling upset or distressed clients. 
• MHFA^® (~5hrs online self-learning + two 2.5hr workshops): teaches participants how to identify and provide support to those with the most common mental health conditions until they are able to seek professional help.

*Mental Health First Aid and MHFA® are registered trademarks of Mental Health First Aid International.

Supportive Leadership + Mental Health First Aid (MHFA®)

This course upskills leaders on developing team psychological safety and nurturing wellbeing whilst also providing the skills and confidence to respond to and support distressed individuals, refer them to professional help when needed, and practice self-care while assisting others:

• Supportive Leadership module (2hrs): provides participants with a useful framework to cultivate a psychologically safe team environment, understand how supportive leadership competencies impact team wellbeing, and learn skills to manage stress and cultivate work-life harmony for yourself and your team. 
• MHFA^® (~5hrs online self-learning + two 2.5hr workshops): teaches participants how to identify and provide support to those with the most common mental health conditions until they are able to seek professional help.
• Booster session (1hr): consolidate skills learnt through peer learning, practicing of further scenarios and activities, and debriefing with a trained expert.

Get in touch with the CoU team to express your interest for this training product, and for pricing and registration information. Discounted pricing is available for IPA members.

For more information about either product, express interest in training, group pricing, in-house training or training schedules, please contact the CoU team or head to https://blogs.deakin.edu.au/counting-on-u/training/ .

[email protected]