MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID

1 IN 4 OF US WILL EXPERIENCE A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE EACH YEAR

TLS are accredited to run and qualify you as a Mental Health First Aider in England.  

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Would you know how to help?

We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Mental ill health can strike at any time and can affect people from all walks of life.  Although things are improving, stigma still exists around mental ill health. As a society, we don't tend to know how to take care of our mental health like we do our physical health. This means that people may not know how to support a friend, family member or colleague experiencing a mental health issue, or where to go for support with their own mental health.

Become a Mental Health First Aider

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a training course which teaches people how to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue. 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.  You’ll learn to recognise warning signs of mental ill health, and develop the skills and confidence to approach and support someone while keeping yourself safe.  You’ll also learn how to empower someone to access the support they might need for recovery or successful management of symptoms. This could include self-help books or websites, accessing therapy services through their GP, their school or place of work, online self-referral, support groups, and more.  What’s more, you’ll gain an understanding of how to support positive wellbeing and tackle stigma in the world around you.

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Key messages

– Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is the mental health equivalent of physical first aid

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– MHFA England is the only provider of licensed Mental Health First Aid Instructor Training inEngland. Information about MHFA England and its courses can be found at mhfaengland.org

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– MHFA England training provides participants with the skills and confidence to recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues and effectively guide a person towards the right support

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– MHFA England’s mission is to help people develop the skills to look after their own and others' wellbeing and reduce the stigma associated with mental ill health.

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– MHFA England training, courses and Instructor Members are continually quality assured, using robust assessment and evaluation measures

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– MHFA is an internationally recognised course, taught in 25 countries around the world. There are now over 2.6 million people trained in MHFA skills worldwide

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We offer a blended learning approach to our training. 

See our course overview below.

SESSION 1

Individual learning (1 hour):

• Introduction to the Online Mental Health First Aid course and the Online Learning Hub (course overview, safety procedure, attending live sessions, and completing individual learning activities)

• Activity 1: Why Mental Health First Aid?

• Activity 2: The Mental Health First Aid action plan

• Activity 3: What is mental health?

• Activity 4: Quiz: Impact of mental health

• Activity 5: Stress Container (completed after live session)

• Activity 6: Frame of Reference (completed after live session)
  
  

Live session (1 hour 45 minutes):

• Introduction to course functions

• Introduction to the course

• ALGEE and mental health introduction recap

• Stigma

• Risk and protective factors

• Frame of Reference

• The Mental Health Continuum

• Introduction to the Stress Container

SESSION 2

Individual learning (2 hours):

• Activity 7: What is depression?

• Activity 8: Risk factors for depression

• Activity 9: Mental Health First Aid for depression

• Activity 10: Introduction to suicide
  
  

Live session (2 hours 20 minutes):

• Recap of individual learning on depression

• Prevalence of suicide

• Suicide, substance misuse and dual diagnosis

• Analyse the impact of suicidal feelings

• Recap of ALGEE and risk factors for suicide

• Explain Mental Health First Aid action plan 1 for suicide

• Explain non-judgemental listening, Empathy video

• Practice using ALGEE in case study scenarios

• Review of ALGEE for suicide and depression

• Self-care

SESSION 3

Individual learning (2 hours):

• Activity 11: What is anxiety?

• Activity 12: Mental Health First Aid for anxiety

• Activity 13: What are eating disorders?

• Activity 14: Mental Health First Aid for eating disorders

• Activity 15: What is self-harm?

• Activity 16: Mental Health First Aid for self-harm

• Activity 17: What are personality disorders?
  
  

Live session (2 hours):

• Recap of individual learning on anxiety

• Recap of the five basic steps of ALGEE for anxiety

• Explain action 1 for anxiety

• How to support someone who is having a panic attack

• Explain crisis first aid

• Practice action 2: non-judgemental listening

• Practice applying the Mental Health First Aid action plan for anxiety

• Explain cognitive behavioural therapy

• Recap of eating disorders and self-harm

• Case study for eating disorders and self-harm

• Review ALGEE for eating disorders and self-harm

SESSION 4

Individual learning (2 hours):

• Activity 18: What are psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder?

• Activity 19: Risk factors for psychosis

• Activity 20: Mental Health First Aid for psychosis

• Activity 21: Helpful and unhelpful responses

• Workbook Activity 10: My action plan for using Mental Health First Aid (completed after live session)
  
  

Live session (1 hour 55 minutes): 

• Review of individual learning on psychosis

• Explain the development of symptoms of psychosis

• Review the five steps of ALGEE for psychosis

• Group discussion about MHFA Australia psychosis video

• Case study activity using Mental Health First Aid action plan for psychosis

• Recovery

• Explore how to build a mentally healthy workplace

• Start action plan to use Mental Health First Aid

• Feedback