Understanding schizophrenia helps support workers respond with empathy, recognise concerns and reduce stigma. Each person’s experience is different, and effective support considers their strengths, preferences, relationships and goals.
The Get My Course Schizophrenia: Awareness, Empathy and Action short course introduces how schizophrenia can affect thinking, perception, emotions and everyday functioning. Explore symptom categories, contributing factors, early warning signs and common misconceptions.
Learn about medication support boundaries, respectful communication and recovery-oriented practice through the CHIME framework: Connectedness, Hope and optimism, Identity, Meaning and Empowerment. The course also explores participant rights, documentation and when to seek urgent assistance.
This course develops awareness for everyday support work. It does not replace clinical training, a participant’s individual plan or your organisation’s procedures.
Practical resources you can keep and use whenever needed.
Revisit key information about symptoms, early warning signs, medication support, recovery and escalation.
Reinforce your learning and test your understanding through practical, non-graded activities.
Apply what you have learned and check that observations, support actions, documentation and follow-up are not overlooked.
Course outcomes
Explain schizophrenia using respectful, accessible language
Recognise common misconceptions and avoid stigmatising assumptions
Describe positive, negative and cognitive symptom categories
Notice changes from a participant’s usual presentation
Recognise that reduced motivation or expression may reflect support needs
Listen with empathy and respond without judgement
Apply CHIME principles to everyday support
Respect participant choice, identity, culture and personal goals
Observe and report possible medication side effects within your role
Follow individual plans and appropriate escalation pathways
Document observations, actions and notifications clearly
Recognise when urgent clinical or emergency assistance is needed
On the job
A participant reports hearing voices and appears distressed.
Listen calmly, acknowledge their distress and follow their individual plan and escalation pathway.
A participant finds it difficult to begin everyday tasks.
Recognise possible difficulties with motivation and provide support suited to their needs and preferences.
A participant has trouble following a long explanation.
Recognise possible information-processing difficulties and adapt communication to their needs.
You notice increasing withdrawal or changes in self-care.
Record specific changes and raise concerns promptly through the appropriate pathway.
A participant reports restlessness or unusual movements after a medication change.
Document the concern and seek timely advice from the appropriate clinician or supervisor.
A participant wants to reconnect with a hobby or community group.
Use CHIME principles to support purpose, connection and participant-led goals.
A participant does not recognise the changes others have noticed.
Understand that reduced awareness can occur and respond without blame or confrontation.
A participant discloses suicidal thoughts or experiences an acute crisis.
Take the concern seriously and seek urgent help according to the level of risk.
Six simple steps
The Workbook provides additional non-graded practice. Any workplace competency requirements remain subject to your employer’s procedures and role-specific training.
After successfully meeting the course requirements, learners will receive a Certificate of Completion for the Get My Course Schizophrenia: Awareness, Empathy and Action short course. You will also have your downloadable Course Pack for continued learning and workplace reference.
Certificate of Completion
Awarded once you meet all course requirements.
This is non-accredited training. The Certificate of Completion is not a nationally recognised qualification or Statement of Attainment. Completion does not qualify learners to diagnose schizophrenia, prescribe medication, change treatment plans or independently manage a clinical crisis.
Schizophrenia can affect communication, motivation, relationships and everyday activities. Understanding these experiences helps workers respond thoughtfully and recognise when someone may need additional support.
Respectful support can also reduce stigma. A participant’s diagnosis does not define their identity, strengths or ambitions. Supporting meaningful goals, social connection and informed choice helps keep the person at the centre of care.
Clear observations, timely communication and coordinated support help participants and treating teams respond to changes. Knowing your professional boundaries is an essential part of providing safe, consistent support.
Schizophrenia is a complex mental health condition that can affect thinking, perception, emotions and behaviour. Experiences and support needs vary between individuals.
No. Schizophrenia does not mean having multiple personalities. It can involve changes in perception and thinking, including hallucinations or delusions.
Positive symptoms include experiences such as hallucinations and delusions. Negative symptoms can involve reduced motivation, expression or enjoyment. Cognitive symptoms affect areas such as attention, memory and information processing. The terms “positive” and “negative” describe symptom categories; they do not mean good or bad.
The course is suitable for disability support workers, mental health support workers, SIL workers, community support workers and others seeking foundational knowledge of schizophrenia.
You can start anytime. Enrol online and begin learning when it suits you.
No. This is a non-accredited Professional Development Short Course. Successful learners receive a Certificate of Completion.
No. Diagnosis requires a comprehensive clinical assessment. The course helps workers recognise concerns, provide respectful support and communicate observations.
CHIME stands for Connectedness, Hope and optimism, Identity, Meaning and Empowerment. It provides a way to support recovery around the person’s relationships, strengths, choices and goals.
Anosognosia refers to reduced awareness of one’s own illness or symptoms. It can affect how a person understands their need for support and should not automatically be treated as deliberate refusal or denial.
Yes. It introduces antipsychotic medication awareness and possible side effects. Workers learn to observe, document and report concerns while following authorised procedures. Medication changes must be discussed with the treating clinician.
It means helping a person pursue a meaningful life as they define it, whether or not symptoms are present. It focuses on hope, relationships, strengths, participation and self-determination.
Seek urgent assistance for suicidal thoughts, self-harm concerns, severe deterioration or an acute crisis. If there is immediate danger, call 000, then notify the appropriate workplace contact when safe to do so.
Record what you observed, what the participant communicated, actions taken, who was notified and any follow-up required. Use factual language and avoid assumptions or diagnostic labels.
Yes. Download the Reference Guide, Workbook and Workplace Checklist and keep them for future reference alongside current support plans and workplace procedures.
I recently finished my Certificate 1V in Training and Assessment with Getmycourse. They have been amazing; tutors and administrators were helpful .
The training and assessment improved how I deliver training, organise sessions, and conduct assessments. This qualification has given me more confidence and strengthened my professional skills.
Their approachable teaching style, clear communication, and constructive feedback were instrumental in helping me successfully complete the course.
Learn to understand schizophrenia, respond with empathy and support each participant’s wellbeing, independence and recovery goals.
Enrol now
Chat with a Course Advisor
Have a question before you enrol? Send us your details and query below.
