Director's Message

Welcome to the field of mental health, and to our circle of friends at HKU MSocSc (Mental Health) – a programme for people who are passionate about mental health care.

Continuing a legacy of nurturing interdisciplinary professionals of our former Directors Professor Daniel Wong, Dr MS Ran and Professor SM Ng, I am honoured to join you all in this great journey to co-create a learning experience that transforms and advances mental health care. Over the years, our programme has grown into a strong network of students and teachers from healthcare, social care, and other professions, including social work, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, nursing, speech therapy, psychology, counselling, education, law and medicine. While we may be from different background, settings, with diverse experience, in this programme we are connected by the shared goal to improve mental health, through exchanging the latest knowledge and skills in the field.

Studying and practicing in Hong Kong, at this point in time, put us at the forefront of what many would describe as a mental health crisis (or, with luck, its aftermath). Our vision in this programme is to groom the next generation of leaders in mental health care to join hands in facing this challenge. By bringing together local and international experts into the classrooms, including experts by experience, we envisage to co-develop ideas with real-world impacts that range from specific intervention approaches to service systems and policy, from young to older populations, and from clinical to theoretical understanding. I hope you would, like me, find this journey rewarding and fulfilling.

Gloria HY Wong
Programme Director, Master of Social Sciences (Mental Health), HKU
Associate Professor, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, HKU

Objective

The ultimate objective is to facilitate aspiring and established healthcare and social service professionals to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to become competent clinical practitioners, administrative and/or clinical supervisors in their respective fields of work.

Learning Outcomes

After the completion of this programme, students should be able to

  • Critical intellectual enquiry and acquiring up-to-date knowledge and research skills in mental health;
  • Application of mental health knowledge and research skills to practice or theoretical exploration, demonstrating originality and creativity;
  • Tackling novel situations and ill-defined problems in mental health;
  • Collaboration and communication of mental health knowledge to specialists in social services and the general public;
  • Awareness of and adherence to personal and professional ethics in mental health;
  • Enhancement of leadership and advocacy skills in the mental health profession.

Who will benefit from the programme

The Master of Social Sciences in Mental Health is a self-funded two-year part-time postgraduate programme for medical doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, counselors, psychiatrists, dietitians, occupational therapies, physiotherapists, speech therapists, Chinese medicine practitioners, and other complementary and alternative medicine practitioners who are interested in mental health issues and practices.