Advancing the Rural Mental Health Workforce Through the Accredited Mental Health Social Worker Blueprint Program
Tracks
Monarch
| Thursday, November 5, 2026 |
| 11:15 AM - 11:45 AM |
Overview
Leigh Davison, Marathon Health
Three Key Learnings
1. Clinical supervision can promote recruitment, retention and the wellbeing of the rural mental health workforce.
2. Innovative clinical supervision programs can provide structured specialist rural mental health training with limited available resources.
3. Structured clinical supervision programs can advance the rural mental health workforce by supporting professional development towards AMHSW credentialing.
Presenter
Leigh Davison
Clinical Lead
Marathon Health
Advancing the Rural Mental Health Workforce Through the Accredited Mental Health Social Worker Blueprint Program
Presentation Overview
Background
The Accredited Mental Health Social Worker (AMHSW) Blueprint Program was developed within the Strong Minds program at Marathon Health to address the need for a skilled rural mental health workforce. The program is designed to support the delivery of safe, effective mental health care using evidence-based focused psychological strategies (FPS), while providing a structured pathway toward Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) AMHSW credentialing.
Aims
The program aims to support newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) transitioning into clinical mental health practice in rural settings, where access to structured professional development and clinical supervision is often limited. This presentation aims to describe the development and pilot implementation of the AMHSW Blueprint Program.
Methods
The presentation will outline an appraisal of supervision models undertaken to achieve a balance between the three core functions of supervision; accountability, education and support. These functions are critical in rural contexts, where clinicians often work in isolation and experience high service demand. The Proctor Model was selected and used as a framework to underpin the program design. The AMHSW Blueprint Program includes eight foundational workshops and multi-modal supervision, designed to provide a balanced framework to support NQSWs transitioning into mental health practice.
Key learnings
The pilot of the AMHSW Blueprint Program has identified three key contributions:
1. Promotes recruitment, retention and workforce wellbeing.
2. Provides structured specialist mental health training for NQSWs.
3. Supports professional development toward AMHSW credentialing.
Discussion
Limited opportunities exist for NQSWs to develop the skills and experience necessary for mental health practice, and progression to AMHSW credentialing. The AMHSW Blueprint Program is an innovative workforce development solution that addresses these gaps and strengthens rural mental health system capacity. A formal evaluation is planned to assess workforce capability, retention and credentialing outcomes as the program expands across rural sites.
The Accredited Mental Health Social Worker (AMHSW) Blueprint Program was developed within the Strong Minds program at Marathon Health to address the need for a skilled rural mental health workforce. The program is designed to support the delivery of safe, effective mental health care using evidence-based focused psychological strategies (FPS), while providing a structured pathway toward Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) AMHSW credentialing.
Aims
The program aims to support newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) transitioning into clinical mental health practice in rural settings, where access to structured professional development and clinical supervision is often limited. This presentation aims to describe the development and pilot implementation of the AMHSW Blueprint Program.
Methods
The presentation will outline an appraisal of supervision models undertaken to achieve a balance between the three core functions of supervision; accountability, education and support. These functions are critical in rural contexts, where clinicians often work in isolation and experience high service demand. The Proctor Model was selected and used as a framework to underpin the program design. The AMHSW Blueprint Program includes eight foundational workshops and multi-modal supervision, designed to provide a balanced framework to support NQSWs transitioning into mental health practice.
Key learnings
The pilot of the AMHSW Blueprint Program has identified three key contributions:
1. Promotes recruitment, retention and workforce wellbeing.
2. Provides structured specialist mental health training for NQSWs.
3. Supports professional development toward AMHSW credentialing.
Discussion
Limited opportunities exist for NQSWs to develop the skills and experience necessary for mental health practice, and progression to AMHSW credentialing. The AMHSW Blueprint Program is an innovative workforce development solution that addresses these gaps and strengthens rural mental health system capacity. A formal evaluation is planned to assess workforce capability, retention and credentialing outcomes as the program expands across rural sites.
Biography
Leigh is an AMHSW, Clinical Supervisor and Clinical Lead of the Strong Minds program at Marathon Health. They are also a part-time PhD student at Charles Sturt University. Their research focuses on clinical supervision in rural mental health. Kathryn and Rebecca are social workers, lecturers in rural health and clinical educators at the Three Rivers Department if Rural Health CSU. Dr Matt is a clinical psychologist and Principal Practice Lead at Marathon Health. Dr Matt also holds appointments as Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, CSU and the Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of NSW.
