Why Mental Health First Aid Training?
MHFA TRAINING
REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Around 1 in 5 Australian adults experience a common mental illness each year. Understanding how to talk about mental health and help someone in need are important skills. Many people feel uncomfortable and unprepared when thinking about starting a conversation with someone they are concerned about.
At a Mental Health First Aid course, you will learn how to recognise the signs and symptoms of mental health problems and learn the skills to feel confident and able to help.
Having mental health first aid skills means that you can assist someone developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis and make a real difference to your community.
Evidence-based
Course
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses are based on evidence of what is best practice mental health first aid to support someone who has a mental health problem or is experiencing a mental health crisis. This evidence has been developed in partnership with the University of Melbourne, through developing Delphi method guidelines that cover a number of mental health problems, crises and in different contexts. All MHFA courses are then evaluated, using rigorous scientific methods, to ensure they are having a positive impact.
Evaluations consistently show that MHFA training is associated with improved knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatments, knowledge of appropriate first aid strategies, and confidence in providing first aid to individuals with mental illness, benefits which are maintained over time.
Some studies have also shown improved mental health in those who attend the training, decreases in stigmatising attitudes and increases in the amount and type of support provided to others.
Now, more than ever, great companies recognise the impact of work on their employee’s wellbeing and mental health. Great companies that care deeply about retention, and their staff’s wellbeing tend to invest further in wellbeing, and mental health first aid training forms a part of the wider strategy.
Recently, a survey conducted by HR consultancy Mercer found that organisations that do more to promote wellbeing have significantly lower turnover rates. The findings were that companies with 5 or more wellbeing best practices had an average turnover rate of 18%, while those with zero to two best practices had average turnover rates of 29%.
This supports the concept that you want Mental Health First Aid training to form a part of your wider strategy.
WHY NOW?
Show You Care
Appointing Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Officers in your workplace is a positive way to demonstrate that your organisation cares about individual well-being.
MHFA Officers are trained to provide initial informal support to other employees in the workplace, outside of Human Resources and Workplace Health & Safety departments. They can complement formal support services, like Employee Assistance Programs.
What are attendees saying about the course?
“Joannie was a great facilitator who was able to bring the content to life. Joannie was skilled at creating a safe space which allowed course participants to share their own mental health experiences and challenges which made the content and learnings all the more engaging.”
“I really enjoyed the live zoom sessions. They were very engaging. The knowledge and tools from these are relevant and easy to implement into the workplace.”