Become a Mental Health First Aider

Online Course for Adults

Overview

This online course trains you as a Mental Health First Aider, giving you:

  • An in-depth understanding of mental health and the factors that can affect wellbeing
  • Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental health issues
  • Confidence to step in, reassure and support a person in distress
  • Enhanced interpersonal skills such as non-judgemental listening
  • Knowledge to help someone recover their health by guiding them to further support – whether that’s self-help resources, through their employer, the NHS, or a blend

Format

  • This is an online course
  • Learning takes place through four live training sessions, spread across two weeks, with self-learning activities in between. See course structure section below for more detail
  • Each session is built around a Mental Health First Aid action plan
  • Courses require a minimum of 8 people, and a maximum of 16 people per course so that I can keep people safe and supported while they learn

Takeaways

Everyone who completes the course receives:

  • A certificate of attendance to say you are a Mental Health First Aider
  • A manual to refer to whenever you need it
  • A quick reference card for the Mental Health First Aid action plan
  • A workbook including a helpful toolkit to support your own mental health
MHFA England logo
“It was excellent and a must for anyone in any walk of life. Very good content and did exactly what I hoped for such a complicated subject – ie allowed me to give first aid.”

Course Structure

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 (2 hours 30 minutes)
  • Introduction to course functions
  • Introduction to the course
  • ALGEE and mental health introduction recap
  • Stigma
  • Risk and protective factors
  • 10 minute break
  • Frame of Reference
  • The Mental Health Continuum
  • Introduction to the Stress Container

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 30 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
  • 10 minute break
  • Explain non-judgemental listening, Empathy video
  • Practice using ALGEE in case study scenarios
  • Review of ALGEE for suicide and depression
  • Self-care

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 30 minutes)
  • 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
  • 10 minute break
  • 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

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 (2 hours 30 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
  • 10 minute break
  • Recovery
  • Explore how to build a mentally healthy workplace
  • Start action plan to use Mental Health First Aid
  • Feedback

Book Your Course

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