Mental Health
Flexible Delivery
100% online delivery with opportunity to meet with teachers and fellow students.
Study at your own pace
Full-time and part-time options. Plan your subjects and study load with NTI.
FEE-HELP & Scholarships
FEE-HELP for eligible students. Check current fees and scholarship opportunities.
Values-Driven Learning Environment
A supportive learning environment shaped by compassion, ethics and whole-person wellbeing.
Study mental health differently
Bring evidence, compassion and a whole-person understanding to your work.
NTI combines contemporary mental health education with contemplative learning, Buddhist perspectives, ethics and reflective practice. Deepen your knowledge while exploring how to care sustainably for yourself and others.
Study 100% online in small, personalised classes, with Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Master qualifications.
Choose your direction: the Flexible Pathway offers study for a range of professional and personal goals. Registered nurses can pursue the ACMHN-accredited Nurse Specialisation (Non-Clinical) at Graduate Diploma or Master level.
Graduate Certificate
in Mental Health
4 subjects
Graduate Diploma in Mental Health
8 subjects
Flexible Pathway or Nurse Specialisation (Non-Clinical)
Master of Mental Health
12 subjects
Flexible Pathway or Nurse Specialisation (Non-Clinical)
Flexible Pathway
For a range of professional and personal goals.
Build deeper mental health knowledge for your work in health care, education, leadership or community settings. Explore evidence-based learning alongside mindfulness, compassion and ethical reflection.
- Choose subjects that fit your interests at the relevant qualification level.
- Develop reflective practice and a whole-person perspective.
- Progress from Graduate Certificate to further postgraduate study.
This pathway does not confer registration as a psychologist, counsellor, therapist or other health professional.
Mental Health Nurse Specialisation
For registered nurses. Non-clinical pathway.
Deepen your mental health nursing knowledge through a structured curriculum that brings evidence-based learning together with compassion, ethics and contemplative practice.
- Available at Graduate Diploma and Master level.
- Accredited by the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN).
- Online study to support your professional development.
Current AHPRA registration as a Registered Nurse is required at application. This is a non-clinical specialisation; check the relevant professional body’s requirements for individual credentialing.
Choose your postgraduate qualification
Start with four subjects in the Graduate Certificate, deepen your study through the eight-subject Graduate Diploma, or complete the twelve-subject Master. Your pathway and qualification determine your core and elective subjects.
Graduate Certificate in Mental Health
4 subjects · 24 credit points
Build a foundation in mental health and wellbeing, mind-body perspectives, compassion, and critical and contemplative inquiry.
A starting point for postgraduate study, with the option to progress to the Graduate Diploma.
Graduate Diploma in Mental Health
8 subjects · 48 credit points
Deepen your mental health knowledge, reflective practice and understanding of contemporary care.
Choose the Flexible Pathway or, for registered nurses, the ACMHN-accredited Nurse Specialisation (Non-Clinical). Successful graduates may transfer into the Master program.
Master of Mental Health
12 subjects · 72 credit points
Extend your knowledge through advanced postgraduate study that integrates research, ethical awareness, contemporary mental health scholarship and contemplative reflection.
Study full-time over 18 months or part-time from 24 months. Flexible Pathway and Nurse Specialisation (Non-Clinical) options are available.
Find the right starting point
Your background, goals and eligibility determine the best qualification and pathway. Check the entry requirements on each course page, or speak with NTI about your circumstances.
Fees and study planning
FEE-HELP is available to eligible students. Review current tuition fees, scholarship opportunities and subject timetables before applying.
Is this program for you?
NTI welcomes people seeking a deeper, more reflective understanding of mental health. Your interests may include:
- Nursing: developing mental health expertise while sustaining compassionate care.
- Clinical and helping professions: reconnecting knowledge, values and reflective practice.
- Community and lived-experience support: deepening understanding for your existing support role.
- Public mental health advocacy: exploring wellbeing in communities, education and workplaces.
- Mind and behaviour: investigating wellbeing, Buddhist perspectives and contemplative inquiry.
This is postgraduate study. Eligibility depends on your qualifications and experience; personal interest or lived experience alone does not guarantee admission.
What you will explore
The curriculum brings contemporary research into conversation with Buddhist and contemplative perspectives.
- Mental health and wellness, including mind-body perspectives.
- Compassion, ethics and reflective practice.
- Research methods and critical inquiry.
- Healing traditions, Buddhism and psychotherapy.
- Learning areas such as nutrition, ageing, art and mindful nature connection.
Core and elective requirements vary by qualification and pathway. View the subject information below and the relevant course page to plan your study.
Care for yourself while caring for others. NTI’s contemplative approach invites self-awareness and reflection alongside academic learning, supporting thoughtful and sustainable practice within your role.
Hear from our students
Explore their experiences, or request a course guide to discuss your own study goals with NTI.
Explore Mental Health Subjects
Below is a list of all the subjects available for Mental Health (MH) enrolments. Access to specific subject requirements will vary depending on the course chosen (i.e. Masters, Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate). Please refer to information about specific courses for details on core and elective subject schedules.
MH801
Mind-Body Wellness in Mental Health
Critically analyse the psychological, emotional, physical, social, and environmental factors that affect welness in individuals and communities. The subject focuses on contemporary research and practical applications of mind-body wellness, with an emphasis on mental health.
MH902
Nutrition and Mental Health
Explore the critical role of nutrition in the prevention, management, and treatment of mental health conditions, including eating disorders by examining how nutrients interact with brain physiology, the nervous system, and mental health outcomes.
MH903
Research Methods in Mental Health
Learn how to effectively search the literature, critically appraise evidence and assess its significance. Students will also critically analyse mental health research from an ethical perspective and understand the importance of lived experience perspectives in research.
MH904
Ethics, Mental Health and Buddhism
Explore the ethical dimensions of mental health care through both Western and Buddhist perspectives, including issues of autonomy, cultural diversity, end-of-life care and emerging ethical issues around new technology (AI), data use and digital mental health interventions.
MH912
Interpersonal Skills for Mental Health Professionals
Examine a range of evidence-based and best-practice approaches to coaching and counselling for health and wellbeing, and develop practical skills via peer and client practice, under supervision.
MH913
Mental Health in Ageing
Consider the healthcare needs of older people, social policy and legislation, and the impact of how older people are represented in media. Analyse the role of compassion within healthcare provision for older people, and the Buddhist perspective on death and dying.
MH914
Mental Health and Wellness
This subject explores emerging research and recent developments in our understanding of mental health and wellbeing, including severe challenges to mental health and the associated impact on the lives of people having these experiences, and their families and communities.
MH915
Therapy Through Art
This subject explores Mental Health, Art and Culture in a broader context and how they relate to individual and societal wellbeing. Students will examines the model and methods of art therapy and explores use within a range of mental health conditions.
MH916
Healing Traditions: Buddhism and Psychotherapy
Explores the therapeutic actions of Buddha’s core teachings and practice of mindfulness, the theoretical and neurobiological basis of meditation training, and the ethics of integrating Buddhism into psychotherapeutic practice. This subject includes experiential exercises.
MH921
Mindful Nature Connection
A transformative subject focused on mindfulness and nature can affect personal development and self-care from both Western and Buddhist perspectives. Students participate in experiential learning and reflect on their own environmental relationships.
NTI800
Critical Inquiry
This subject is designed to prepare students to be successful in their postgraduate studies, develop critical thinking, research and communication skills, and introduce contemplative inquiry, which underpins the postgraduate curriculum.
HSW905
Compassion at Work
This subject examines the implications of compassion in health care for individuals, organisations and society, and offers both applied and theoretical experiences for personal and professional development in health care.