Programme highlights
Make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of the people in your community and get a career in an essential industry.
This health qualification empowers you to learn the skills and knowledge you will need to help people access mental health services.
This entry-level qualification is the best place to start if you want to develop a career supporting the health and wellbeing of others.
Specialising as a mental health and addiction support worker, this qualification allows you to work alongside people, family and whanau. Learn how to support independence of our people, family and whānau by using relevant teaching tools and strategies to foster hope, support recovery and build resilience.
This qualification includes a minimum of 200 hours of work experience.
Entry requirements
General
- Be 17 years of age or older.
English language entry requirements
Applicants must have sufficient competence in the English language to undertake this programme which is taught and assessed in English. Any applicant whose first language is not English will be required to provide evidence of their English language competency NZQF Programme and Accreditation Rules. Employees and volunteers working in the health and wellbeing sectors are required to undergo initial and ongoing checks to ensure they are a fit and proper person to provide support. Applicants must attend??an??interview??to??determine??their??suitability??for??the??programme.??During??the interview the applicant will be assessed against the requirements of the School’s policy for students accessing??placements??in??the??health??context??in??terms??of??their??suitability??for??placement?? in the programme.??At interview the suitability of students to work with vulnerable populations will also be addressed to establish the students’ suitability. Vulnerable Children’s Act will also be addressed during the interview process. Any ākonga who is 20 years of age or older and has not reached the general admission requirements for their intended programme is eligible for Special Admission. Te Pūkenga works with the ākonga to ensure they are prepared for their intended programme. Any ākonga who is not yet 20 years of age and has not reached the general admission requirements for their intended programme may be eligible for Discretionary Admission. In assessing whether to grant Discretionary Admission, the delegated authority focuses on the applicant’s level of preparedness for their intended programme. Did you know you can use the knowledge and experience you already have to your advantage? Your previous work experience and on-the-job skills, volunteering, professional development, and other providers’ qualifications can be recognised as prior learning, matched against credits in our courses, and put towards your qualification – potentially saving you money and possibly helping you to complete your qualification faster Learn more.
To establish a fit and proper person, checks will be required and, depending on the context they work in, may include:
– Police checks
– Drug and alcohol testing
– Two references
– Checks against Children’s Act 2014
– Checks against any other relevant legislation.Interviews
Special & discretionary admission
Give yourself credit with Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Programme structure
Within the first three weeks of commencing your programme, you will need to show evidence of your immunisation status (which will incur a cost) in order to enable you to go out to your practicum placement.
You will need to complete five compulsory courses and four elective courses from your strand (120 credits):
Compulsory courses
Do you want to study a single course, without enrolling into the full programme?
Courses within some of our programmes may be offered as an individual Certificate of Proficiency (COP). Programme entry requirements and course fees apply. For more information, please speak to our friendly Ask Me! team.
Further training or study
The qualification may lead to further study at Level 5, or bachelor’s degrees in related health and wellbeing subject areas. It may also lead into leadership and management roles.
- New Zealand Certificate in Public Health and Health Promotion (Level 5)
- Bachelor of Applied Counselling (Level 7)
- Bachelor of Applied Social Work (Level 7)
Career opportunities
Mental health and addiction support worker, and peer support worker.?For potential salaries visit careers.govt.nz.
See why more people choose Counselling and mental health at MIT
MIT is the quality choice. Study health or counselling and graduate work-ready.
“If you’re considering it – just go for it.”
“Before studying I was a secondary school student at Rosehill College. I had heard a lot about MIT, and everyone seemed so happy and excited about studying there. After I had enrolled, I went to the orientation which was very informative, and they talked a lot about the support they provide which made me feel relieved to start studying at MIT.
I really enjoy how friendly the people and staff are. The support I get at MIT is really unique and there are multiple different support people you can ask for help from. The work can sometimes be challenging but to overcome this I just email my lecturer questions or anything I need help with, and they make it really clear to understand. I manage to fit in at least an hour of studying a day to keep up with my course so that I can also make time for myself and my family.
Once I finish my programme in health and wellbeing I’m planning to pursue my goal of becoming a psychologist. I’ve had a passion for the health field ever since I was a child. I wanted to become a doctor but as I grew older, I decided I wanted to become a psychologist and I figured that this mental health course would be the best one to help me get started.
If you’re considering it – just go for it. It doesn’t take long to apply, and the field is very informative and helpful and influences everyday life.”
Brooke Harper
MIT student
“What I really appreciate about MIT is the work, life, study balance.”
“I chose counselling to support myself, to support my whanau, to support my iwi and my hapu and to support the community.
Prior to studying, I worked in the business sector as an education specialist, providing asset leasing solutions to the school sector. Alongside that, I was learning and practising Māori healing. I’m also a mentor for wāhine Māori. It was a natural progression for me to then step into counselling to add knowledge to my kete to tautoko Māori.
We have a mix of theory and practical and as an adult learner, I’ve had a long history of working in the sector. That’s a preferable way for me to learn.
I chose to come here because its diverse, diverse cultures. I’m very happy that we have indigenous lecturers. And the classes are supportive.
What I really appreciate about MIT is the work, life, and study balance. So, in addition to this, I work part-time as a kaiāwhina, a support worker. We can make it work around our lifestyles. The advice that I’d give to someone studying at MIT is to make sure it’s something that you love to do. That you absolutely love what you do, and you’re just going to have the time of your life. There will be challenges, but because it’s something that you love to do, you’ll have the courage to move through those challenges.
Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui. Be strong, be brave, be steadfast.”
Romaiye Lowen
MIT student
“I’ve not struck this level of openness in any other training institute.”
“I identified a need when I went looking for support for my own family. At the time I was looking for a direction and it struck me that I can do that, and I can do that well!
The flexibility is the best part for me. I wanted to study somewhere where I had the freedom to study when and where it suited me and the flexibility to work around my busy family life. MIT works brilliantly into my lifestyle as a busy mother of 3 kids, all with additional needs. Classes are always recorded, which means if I cannot attend them, I do not miss out. And lecturers are always contactable for questions or support.
I have a lot of chronic health issues that I have had to work around and figure out a way to study with. MIT has been brilliant in helping me to navigate this, doing everything they can to help.
I really enjoy the focus on diversity. It makes sense in a society that is multicultural and extremely diverse to educate students who will be working with these people about the nature of their diversity. I’ve not struck this level of openness in any other training institute.
I started my placement this semester and it was an amazing opportunity to transfer the incredible skills I have learned from my tutors into the real world and get a feel for what the industry looks like from the ground. I believe these placements are incredibly important to create well-rounded and prepared counsellors post-graduation.
This is a high-need career in New Zealand. Only good things can come of having more excellently trained counsellors, so if you are interested in this as a career, I would urge you to really consider it – not only for yourself but for the greater good.
When I finish studying I want to work counselling young gender-diverse kids (12 and under) and their families.”
Kerry-Lee Bray
MIT student
“I wanted to be working in a job that made a difference to peoples’ lives in a meaningful way.”
“I’ve chosen to study health and wellbeing at MIT as at this stage in my life I wanted to be working in a job that made a difference to peoples’ lives in a meaningful way. After some time to reflect and evaluate what was involved with a healthcare assistant role it felt like a good fit for me.
The programme is delivered at MIT Manukau and it’s a pretty cool campus with wonderful helpful staff. I really enjoy its familiar and family kind of atmosphere. All the students and staff have been so friendly and welcoming.
I really appreciate that as an older student coming into this course it was a little daunting at first, as I had left school at 15 without even school certificate as it was back in those days. So any kind of study was a bit of a learning curve.
I have had some amazingly kind peers in my class who have been kind enough to give me some guiding help with using various technology, tools and apps. MIT also has lots of help available for anyone needing to increase those skills.
My goal is to work in end of life care as a healthcare assistant or in an associated way. When I finish the course, I intend to work in a hospital for 6-12 months to get wide scope of experience and become effective as a HCA. Perhaps while I am working in this role another path might become clear for me in following my ultimate goal of palliative care.”
Duncan
MIT graduate
“Make a difference in your community.”
“If making a difference in your community is something you want to achieve then a career in health is a career for you. As a Samoan one of the core values I was taught growing up is tautua which means service. So serving our parents our families our elders and our community. That was one of the main reasons I decided I wanted to study health.”
Tino Tevaga
MIT graduate
See why more people choose Counselling and mental health at MIT
MIT is the quality choice. Study health or counselling and graduate work-ready.
“If you’re considering it – just go for it.”
“Before studying I was a secondary school student at Rosehill College. I had heard a lot about MIT, and everyone seemed so happy and excited about studying there. After I had enrolled, I went to the orientation which was very informative, and they talked a lot about the support they provide which made me feel relieved to start studying at MIT.
I really enjoy how friendly the people and staff are. The support I get at MIT is really unique and there are multiple different support people you can ask for help from. The work can sometimes be challenging but to overcome this I just email my lecturer questions or anything I need help with, and they make it really clear to understand. I manage to fit in at least an hour of studying a day to keep up with my course so that I can also make time for myself and my family.
Once I finish my programme in health and wellbeing I’m planning to pursue my goal of becoming a psychologist. I’ve had a passion for the health field ever since I was a child. I wanted to become a doctor but as I grew older, I decided I wanted to become a psychologist and I figured that this mental health course would be the best one to help me get started.
If you’re considering it – just go for it. It doesn’t take long to apply, and the field is very informative and helpful and influences everyday life.”
Brooke Harper
MIT student
“What I really appreciate about MIT is the work, life, study balance.”
“I chose counselling to support myself, to support my whanau, to support my iwi and my hapu and to support the community.
Prior to studying, I worked in the business sector as an education specialist, providing asset leasing solutions to the school sector. Alongside that, I was learning and practising Māori healing. I’m also a mentor for wāhine Māori. It was a natural progression for me to then step into counselling to add knowledge to my kete to tautoko Māori.
We have a mix of theory and practical and as an adult learner, I’ve had a long history of working in the sector. That’s a preferable way for me to learn.
I chose to come here because its diverse, diverse cultures. I’m very happy that we have indigenous lecturers. And the classes are supportive.
What I really appreciate about MIT is the work, life, and study balance. So, in addition to this, I work part-time as a kaiāwhina, a support worker. We can make it work around our lifestyles. The advice that I’d give to someone studying at MIT is to make sure it’s something that you love to do. That you absolutely love what you do, and you’re just going to have the time of your life. There will be challenges, but because it’s something that you love to do, you’ll have the courage to move through those challenges.
Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui. Be strong, be brave, be steadfast.”
Romaiye Lowen
MIT student
“I’ve not struck this level of openness in any other training institute.”
“I identified a need when I went looking for support for my own family. At the time I was looking for a direction and it struck me that I can do that, and I can do that well!
The flexibility is the best part for me. I wanted to study somewhere where I had the freedom to study when and where it suited me and the flexibility to work around my busy family life. MIT works brilliantly into my lifestyle as a busy mother of 3 kids, all with additional needs. Classes are always recorded, which means if I cannot attend them, I do not miss out. And lecturers are always contactable for questions or support.
I have a lot of chronic health issues that I have had to work around and figure out a way to study with. MIT has been brilliant in helping me to navigate this, doing everything they can to help.
I really enjoy the focus on diversity. It makes sense in a society that is multicultural and extremely diverse to educate students who will be working with these people about the nature of their diversity. I’ve not struck this level of openness in any other training institute.
I started my placement this semester and it was an amazing opportunity to transfer the incredible skills I have learned from my tutors into the real world and get a feel for what the industry looks like from the ground. I believe these placements are incredibly important to create well-rounded and prepared counsellors post-graduation.
This is a high-need career in New Zealand. Only good things can come of having more excellently trained counsellors, so if you are interested in this as a career, I would urge you to really consider it – not only for yourself but for the greater good.
When I finish studying I want to work counselling young gender-diverse kids (12 and under) and their families.”
Kerry-Lee Bray
MIT student
“I wanted to be working in a job that made a difference to peoples’ lives in a meaningful way.”
“I’ve chosen to study health and wellbeing at MIT as at this stage in my life I wanted to be working in a job that made a difference to peoples’ lives in a meaningful way. After some time to reflect and evaluate what was involved with a healthcare assistant role it felt like a good fit for me.
The programme is delivered at MIT Manukau and it’s a pretty cool campus with wonderful helpful staff. I really enjoy its familiar and family kind of atmosphere. All the students and staff have been so friendly and welcoming.
I really appreciate that as an older student coming into this course it was a little daunting at first, as I had left school at 15 without even school certificate as it was back in those days. So any kind of study was a bit of a learning curve.
I have had some amazingly kind peers in my class who have been kind enough to give me some guiding help with using various technology, tools and apps. MIT also has lots of help available for anyone needing to increase those skills.
My goal is to work in end of life care as a healthcare assistant or in an associated way. When I finish the course, I intend to work in a hospital for 6-12 months to get wide scope of experience and become effective as a HCA. Perhaps while I am working in this role another path might become clear for me in following my ultimate goal of palliative care.”
Duncan
MIT graduate
“Make a difference in your community.”
“If making a difference in your community is something you want to achieve then a career in health is a career for you. As a Samoan one of the core values I was taught growing up is tautua which means service. So serving our parents our families our elders and our community. That was one of the main reasons I decided I wanted to study health.”
Tino Tevaga
MIT graduate
