Mental Health First Aid (2 day)

Description

Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an internationally recognised training course, designed to teach people how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and provide help on a first aid basis.

Adult MHFA courses can be attended by people aged 16 upwards and are relevant for the general population. Everyone on an Adult MHFA course is taught a set of skills which enables them to support someone experiencing mental health issues.

Course Overview
Developed by MHFA England this two-day course is ideal for staff at every level who would like to become a MHFAider® to gain the knowledge and skills to spot signs of people experiencing poor mental health, be confident to start a conversation and signpost a person to appropriate support.

As a 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
• Listen, reassure and respond and even potentially prevent a crisis from happening
• Practise self-care
• Know how to use the MHFAider Support App®
• Know how to use a dedicated text service provided by Shout (Shout is a free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging service)
• Ongoing learning opportunities with MHFA England

Course Content
The course is separated into four sessions, allowing delegates to develop an understanding of common mental health illnesses and gives them the confidence to promote mental health awareness.

Session1

• Mental Health First Aid and the action plan
• The MHFAider® role and self-care
• 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 First Aid 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 

Assessment and Certification
There is no formal assessment for this course, but delegates must complete all sections of the course. Everyone who completes the course gets:

• A copy of the workbook to support their learning throughout the course
• Access to the MHFAider Support App® valid for three years
• A digital manual to refer to whenever they need it
• A digital MHFAider® certificate valid for three years
• A wallet-sized reference card with the MHFA action plan