16 Top Free Online Mental Health Courses

In this article, you will find several free online mental health courses that you can enroll in right immediately with your smartphone or laptop. You’ll be learning about mental health from top universities, colleges, and other institutions from all over the world from the comfort of your home.

The importance of the mental health of an individual cannot be stressed enough. Individuals, healthy both in mind and body are highly productive, however, the same cannot be said for people who aren’t.

For you to be employed in any organization your wellbeing is evaluated and taken into account and you are employed if your wellbeing is satisfactory to HR.

This is just one of the many instances where the general wellbeing of an individual determines their future.

You may have wondered on several occasions “what makes this particular person behave the way they do?”. Unlike other illnesses that you can just understand or correctly guess what is wrong with a person simply by looking at them. It doesn’t work that way in mental health, you need to have a different eye for it and you can actually learn it.

Psychology is the best field of study that better studies human behavior and mental health. You can get a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate for it and become a well-established psychologist. But before you venture into it, why don’t you test it out first to see what it looks like.

We at Study Abroad Nations have prepared a list of top free online mental health courses that will help you in establishing a successful career in psychology. You can enroll in the courses if you aspire to become a psychologist, want to learn about human behavior, or work on your mental health and become more efficient in your work or normal daily activities.

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Why Take a Mental Health Course Online?

Online education comes with a host of benefits but among them all is its benefit of flexibility, convenience, and the online courses come at cheaper rates or free as in this case. This means that you can learn a skill, or get a degree of your choice online without disrupting your already existing activities.

So if you are working in a company, running a business, or pursuing a degree at an offline school. You can still enroll in online learning such as the free online mental health courses listed in this post.

What is a mental health course?

Mental health courses are psychology courses that teach individuals about mental health issues, offer solutions to these issues, and be able to implement what you’ve learned in a real working environment.

Are online mental health courses valid?

The straightforward answer to this is – Yes! Online mental health courses are offered by top universities and institutions from all over the world and taught by top lecturers and professors. The classes are then delivered online through online learning platforms.

The same thing you learned in the online mental health courses are the same thing thought offline, the only difference is the mode of delivery. But if it’s a question of whether online mental health courses are valid, yes it is.

What qualifications do I need to be a mental health support worker?

You can get a degree in Psychology or Health and Social Care. You can also study for a qualification in Mental Health, Counseling, or Community services. A Diploma of Mental Health or Certificate IV in Mental Health can also qualify you as a mental health support worker.

The free online mental health courses detailed in this post will help you in kick-starting a career in the psychology field and gradually see you through your journey as a mental health support worker.

Since you are excited to begin learning, we have come up with 16 mental health courses that you can study at your own time without paying a dime.

Top Free Online Mental Health Courses

The following are the 16 free online mental health courses that will equip you with skills and knowledge to become an expert mental health worker;

  1. Diploma in Mental Health
  2. Beating Depression
  3. Supporting Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Illness
  4. Psychological First Aid
  5. De-Mystifying Mindfulness
  6. The Arts and Science of Relationship: Understanding Human Needs
  7. Mental Health and Nutrition
  8. Managing Study, Stress and Mental Health at University
  9. Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance
  10. Youth Mental Health: Helping Young People with Anxiety
  11. Addressing Postnatal Depression as a Healthcare Professional
  12. Awareness of Mental Health Problems
  13. Dementia Care
  14. General Psychiatric Management for BPD
  15. Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health
  16. Caring for Vulnerable Children

Diploma in Mental Health

A diploma in mental health can land you a job as a mental health support worker in any organization, and this time you’re studying it online for free. Thanks to the internet and Alison – an online learning platform – that is offering this course you can gain effective skills to solve mental health issues in no time.

By enrolling in this course you will gain a better understanding of all kinds of mental illnesses, detect symptoms, and administer treatment to affected individuals. You will also learn how to manage your wellbeing and that of the people around you.

Beating Depression

This is another of the free online mental health courses offered by Alison and it shares with students the secrets of beating depression. You can implement it in your life or/and for others who are battling with depression and need help in overcoming it.

You will be equipped with every major skill required in beating depression this includes learning the physical and psychological effects of depression, science and stats of depression, myths about depression, and the medical treatments for depression, etc. You can enroll here.

Supporting Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Illness

In your quest to becoming a psychologist or a mental health worker, you need to learn how to deal with people with intellectual disabilities as well as mental illnesses. To achieve this, you will study the four guiding principles of support work and how the strengths and resources of clients and their communities are involved in the care process.

This is one of the top free online courses that will help to establish you in the health industry as a mental health professional. You can enroll here.

Psychological First Aid

John Hopkins University is teaching the course, Psychological First Aid, on Coursera and it is one of such free online mental health courses offered by the university. The course teaches students how to provide mental first aid to people in an emergency.

The first aid is done by employing the RAPID model: Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition. Which can be applied in any public health setting and also building your skill as a psychologist. You can enroll here.

De-Mystifying Mindfulness

In the past, meditation, mindfulness, and contemplation were used in healing the mind, and although it was frowned upon as a mystical practice in those days. Now, it is back and is deeply rooted in the health sector especially psychology and neuroscience.

Psychologists use mindfulness in treating numerous therapeutic interventions and also as a means of promoting wellbeing and happiness. You can enroll here.

The Arts and Science of Relationship: Understanding Human Needs

This is one of the free online mental health courses offered by the University of Toronto and it is delivered online by Coursera. You’ll be introduced to various concepts relevant to everyday relationships in the fields of social work and health care.

At the end of this course, you will gain skills in psychology, assertiveness, communication, and build strong relationships with the people around you. You can enroll here.

Mental Health and Nutrition

Nutrition plays a vital role in the mental health of individuals and knowing the right food to consume to promote wellbeing is an important thing to study. You can enroll in this course if you are already a health professional working with individuals with mental health issues.

You can also enroll if you are experiencing anxieties, stress, or low mood. You will learn to consume the right food and nutrition to help fight against these issues. The course is one of the free online mental health courses offered by the University of Canterbury and delivered online by edX. You can enroll here.

Managing Study, Stress and Mental Health at University

This course is for university students, regular school comes with an abundance of stress and there have been a lot of cases where it affects the mental health of students.

This course works as a stress reliever, it will provide you with the skills, knowledge, and understanding to recognize, identify, and respond to mental health challenges in yourself and others. It is one of the free online mental health courses offered by Curtin University and delivered online via edX. You can enroll here.

Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance

Is your daily productivity lacking inefficiency? Or are you overstressed at work and it is affecting your performance? Then this course is for you.

In this course provided by Monash University, you will learn effective mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and enhance your wellbeing or performance either at work or school.

The course is one of the free online mental health courses offered online by FutureLearn, and you can also implement the techniques to the people around you suffering the same mental challenges. You can enroll here.

Youth Mental Health: Helping Young People with Anxiety

Teenagers deal with a lot of pressure while growing up and anxiety disorder is one of them, and of course, they need help. Improve your health care skills, enroll in this case, and learn how you can help manage anxiety disorders in young people.

Also, if you are a teacher who is looking for a way to help young people overcome their anxiety issues you should also enroll in this course.

Through this course, you can be able to detect teenagers with anxiety disorders and offer your expertise in making them better. You can enroll here.

Addressing Postnatal Depression as a Healthcare Professional

While pregnant, women go through depression, anxiety disorders, and mood swings which is detrimental to their mental health and they need help. In this course, you will learn how to offer effective support to new and expecting parents.

You will understand the symptoms of postnatal depression, how to support affected parents, and improve their mental health and wellbeing.

The program is offered by the University of Exeter and delivered online by FutureLearn. You can enroll here.

Awareness of Mental Health Problems

This course provides free qualifications for mental health awareness and an understanding of a range of mental health problems. In the UK, individuals with such skill and knowledge are in high demand and you can reassure your current or potential employer that you possess knowledge in this field.

The course is offered online by StriveTraining and it takes an average of 5-10 weeks to complete. You can enroll here.

Dementia Care

Dementia is growing mental health common in old people and they deserve the proper care and not many people have the skill set to take care of them. You can enroll in this course, Dementia Care, to learn the key principles in supporting and caring for those with dementia using the appropriate method.

The course is offered online by Vision2learn, 100% free, and takes 16 weeks to complete and you’ll be offered a certification at the end of the course. You can enroll here.

General Psychiatric Management for BPD

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a type of mental disorder characterized by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships.

This course is one of the free online mental health courses offered online by Harvard Medical School and offers training to those in the health field on how to identify and treat individuals with BPD. You can enroll here.

Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health

The course, Positive Psychiatry, and Mental Health is one of the free online mental health courses offered by the University of Sydney and provided online by Coursera.

The course explores the various aspects of good mental wellbeing and offers an overview of the major types of mental disorders, causes, treatments, and how to seek help and support. You can enroll here.

Caring for Vulnerable Children

Enrolling in this course will teach you what it’s like caring for vulnerable children. If you love kids or work in an environment with a lot of kids then this course is for you.

The course explores various child development and parenting principles that help in taking care of children with mental health issues. You can enroll here.


This brings an end to the free online mental health courses, follow the provided links to begin any of the courses of your choice, and start learning immediately at your own time.

Conclusion

There are a lot of people who suffer from one sort of illness or the other, mental illnesses being one of the major ones. And most people don’t realize this quick and it leads to their end, the issue of mental illnesses isn’t stressed enough, not enough awareness on it.

Break the chain. Take one or more of these free online courses, learn about your mental health and of those around you whether at home, work, or school. And because these courses are offered online they will put no strain in your daily life, while you work or school you can study at the same time.

Some of the courses listed here have a certification of completion and while some of the certificates are free, others aren’t. Acquiring a certificate would make you seem more professional and attract potential clients.

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