Mental Health First Aid

Overview

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a training course designed to provide individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to offer initial assistance to someone experiencing a mental health crisis or struggling with mental health issues. MHFA won’t teach you to be a therapist, but it will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis – and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.

In the same way we would provide first aid to someone with a physical injury, a mental health first aider can offer the same initial support using the tools gained within the course.

The training is delivered by an experienced and qualified MHFA England instructor, using a combination of presentations, group discussions and workshop activities.

Who needs this Qualification?

The Mental Health First Aid course is suitable for anyone who would like to learn more about mental health, some of the common mental health issues people may experience and support co-workers.

Why is this training important?

Mental health education empowers people to care for themselves and others by reducing stigma through understanding. Ouch hope to break down barriers to the support that people may need to stay well, recover, or manage their symptoms – to thrive in learning, work and life.

Employers have a ‘duty of care’. This means they must do all they reasonably can to support the mental health, safety, and well-being of their employees.

Course content

Session 1:

Mental Health First Aid and the action plan

The MHFAider® role

Self-care

What is mental health?

Helpful and unhelpful language

Useful models to support the role

Session 2:

What influences mental health?

What is anxiety?

Crisis first aid

Active listening and empathy

What are eating disorders?

What is self-harm?

What is substance misuse?

Session 3:

Applying the mental health action plan

What is depression?

What is suicide?

Crisis first aid continued

What is psychosis?

Session 4:

Recovery and lived experience

Boundaries in the MHFAider® role

Moving forward in the MHFAider® role

My MHFA action plan

Learning outcomes

• As an MHFAider® you will be able to:
• Recognise those that may be experiencing poor mental health and provide them with first-level support and early intervention
• Encourage a person to identify and access sources of professional help and other supports
• Practise active listening and empathy
• Have a conversation with improved mental health literacy around language and stigma
• Discuss the MHFAider® role in depth, including boundaries and confidentiality
• Practise self-care
• Know how to use the MHFAider Support App®
• Know how to access a dedicated text service provided by Shout and ongoing learning opportunities with MHFA England

Certificated by: MHFA England

Duration: 2 days

Assessment: No Formal assessment

Prerequisites: None

Validity of award: This certificate does not expire; however, refresher training is recommended every 3 years.

Included in the price:

• Interactive and engaging course
• A digital MHFAider® certificate
• Access to the MHFAider® Support App® which has 24/7 support including a resource library full of toolkits, guidance, and animations for 3 years
• Hard copy workbook to support learning throughout the course
• A digital manual to refer to after completing the course
• A wallet-sized reference card with the Mental Health First Aid action plan
• The opportunity to be part of the largest MHFAider® community in England
• Access to FREE resources on the Ouch website including Appointed Persons posters for your workplace
• Access to our customer portal to view your bookings, download previous certificates and generate training reports of your employees
• Automatic email reminders for certificate expiries