Mental Health First Aid

What is Mental Health First Aid?

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an internationally recognised training course which teaches people how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and provide help on a first aid basis. MHFA England training won’t teach you to be a therapist, but just like physical first aid, it will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis. Adult MHFA England courses are for everyone aged 16 upwards. Every MHFA England course is delivered by a quality assured Instructor Member who has attended our Instructor Training programme accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health, and is trained to keep people safe and supported.

What will I learn?

Learning takes place through a mix of group activities, presentations and discussions. What you learn will depend on the length of course you attend:

Two Day - Mental Health First Aiders

A practical skills and awareness course designed to give you:

• A deeper understanding of mental
• health and the factors that can affect
• people’s wellbeing, including your own
• − 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
• appropriate support

How will attending an MHFA England course help?

Research and evaluation shows that taking part in an MHFA England course:

• Raises awareness and mental health literacy
• Reduces stigma around mental ill health
• Boosts knowledge and confidence in dealing with mental health issues
• Promotes early intervention which enables recovery