Mental Health First Aid

What is Mental Health?

In many ways, mental health is just like physical health: everybody has it and we need to take care of it.

Everyone has stresses every day and different emotions to deal with from time to time, and this is normal. We rely on all our senses, emotions, and perceptions to get us through life.

Mental health problems affect around one in four people in any given year. They range from common problems, such as depression and anxiety, to rarer problems such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The UK has recently been ranked below the global average for mental wellbeing, with more than a quarter of individuals that suffer from stress claiming that work is the reason for their condition. Of the 23 countries surveyed, the UK had the fifth highest number of workers reporting unmanageable levels of stress.

According to the latest findings in the 2018 Wellbeing Survey from Cigna 360°, the UK has the fifth most workers reporting that their levels of stress are unmanageable, putting us in the bottom ranking for mental wellbeing along with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Korea. You can read more here.

Stress, depression and anxiety are all too common in the workplace and accounted for 40% of all work-related ill health cases and 49% of all working days lost due to ill health in 2016/17.

In the same year, mental ill health affected 526,000 workers, which is suggested to have cost employers between £33 billion and £42 billion (Deloitte, 2017). The full report can be accessed here.

The issue of work-related stress is a priority on many business agendas, with personnel across various industries commenting on the common nature of the problem. A recent, government-commissioned ‘Thriving at Work’ report (Stevenson and Farmer, 2017) states:

“At a time when there is a national focus on productivity, the inescapable conclusion is that it is massively in the interest of both employers and Government to prioritise and invest far more in improving mental health.”

The full government report is here.

Mental Health First Aid training

In response to requests from our clients First Response (First Aid) Ltd are now able to offer six new mental health first aid training courses which are suitable for those working with both young people and adults: -

A half day four-hour session to raise awareness of mental health in the workplace which is designed to give an understanding of what mental health is and how to challenge stigma, as well as a basic knowledge of some common mental health issues, an introduction to looking after your own mental health and maintaining wellbeing plus the confidence to support someone in distress or who may be experiencing a mental health issue.
Our one-day mental health awareness and skills course qualifies you as a Mental Health First Aid Champion (Mental Health First Aider)
The two-day course delivers an in-depth understanding of mental health and the factors that can affect wellbeing. Learning takes place through a mix of presentations, group discussions and workshop activities.

Everyone who completes First Response First Aid Mental Health First aid courses receives a mental health first aid manual to keep and refer to whenever they need it and a mental health first aid certificate.

We limit numbers to 16 people per course so that the instructor can keep people safe and supported while they learn.

If this is something your organisation is interested in, please get in touch for more information or to book a course, via our website

or on 01543 372888 You can also read more here