​Real Skills Plus ICAMH/AOD Competency Framework

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Hi , which level is best for you?
Real Skills Plus has three levels: primary, core and specific. These levels relate to your area of practice, your role and experience. Please read the descriptions below to identify which level you should complete. If you are completing Real Skills Plus as a team or organisation please check with your manager which level you are required to complete.
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Primary

The Primary level is for practitioners who work in Primary Level Services and are likely to come into contact with infants, children or young people and their family/whānau. Primary Level Services include all services within the community that provide 'front-line' or 'first-contact' health services. Examples include but are not limited to people working in the health services of schools, social service agencies, general practice, statutory services such as Oranga Tamariki, Plunket youth services and justice services. These services may be government, non-government or privately funded.

The Primary level reflects the knowledge and skills that enable practitioners in primary level services to recognise a suspected mental health and/or alcohol or other drug concern early and provide a brief intervention and/or referral for an infant, child or young person and their family/whānau.

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Core

The Core level is for practitioners who work in secondary level services, who work directly with infant child, young people and their whānau who may have or have a mental health or AOD concern. This can be government, DHB, NGO or private services. This level is suitable for new practitioners working in mental health or AOD services.

The Core level outlines the core skills, knowledge and attitudes practitioners need (or should be working towards) to work with people infant, children, young people and their family who have suspected or identified mental health or/and AOD concerns. Practitioners working at this level require competence in assessment, and a range of behavioural, cognitive, and systemic therapeutic approaches.

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Specific

The Specific level is for practitioners, often senior, experienced or advanced practitioners that have specialist/specific areas of practice. These practitioners may be in roles such as nurse practitioner, senior psychologist, advisory roles, and clinical leadership roles. These can be in government, DHB, NGO or private services. It can include specialist/specific roles in primary level services such as consultancy or liaison roles.

The Specific level includes knowledge and skills relevant to a specific area of infant, child, youth and their family/whānau mental health/AOD work within secondary services. It may include skills in specific assessment (for example, psychometric assessment); the ability to provide one or more evidence-informed interventions (for example, behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic or systemic therapies) Such knowledge and skills will usually have been gained as part of a tertiary education programme or equivalent.

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Real Skills Plus Framework

Real Skills Plus

While not critical to the process, you can discover more about Real Skills Plus project and its background here