Mental Health First Aid Training Promoted By CWU

Mental Health First Aid is an educational course which teaches people how to identify, understand and help a person who may be developing a mental health issue. In the same way as we learn physical first aid, Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to recognise those crucial warning signs of mental ill health.

Here, Dave Joyce, CWU's National Health, Safety & Environment Officer discusses the training course and provides background and explains why the Union is supporting mental health training first-aid and believes it is a good idea for all Union Safety Reps and indeed; all those who are concerned about the mental health of both themselves and others.

Developed in Australia in 2000 and now internationally recognised in 23 countries, the MHFA course teaches people how to recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues, provide help on a first aid basis and effectively guide someone towards the right support services.  

Mental ill health can affect every single one of us. There is widespread ignorance of mental ill health in the general population and there is the associated stigma too. For some the stigma can lead to delays in people seeking help and support. There is also a lack of confidence in what to do if someone is distressed or in a crisis situation. 

In any one year, approximately 1 in 4 British adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem.  

Mental ill health costs UK employers an estimated £26 billion, which equates to an average of over £1,000 per employee.   

By learning to recognise the signs that someone may be unwell, you may be able to provide initial help, to guide a person towards appropriate professional help, and in its most powerful form, save a life by learning basic suicide intervention skills.

Why do Mental Health First Aid training?

There is widespread ignorance of mental ill health in the general population and there is the associated stigma too. For some the stigma can lead to delays in people seeking help and support. There is also a lack of confidence in what to do if someone is distressed or in a crisis situation. MHFA is a response to this with the aim of improving mental health literacy throughout communities and workplaces, with the belief that mental health crises, such as suicidal and self-harming actions, can sometimes be avoided by early intervention. Mental Health First Aid graduates receive an internationally recognised certificate of achievement.

CWU Health, Safety & Environment Department Action

Workers have been experiencing a significant increase in stress, which in some cases has led to mental health problems, as a result of the impact of austerity on their work and home lives. Although there is greater public awareness of mental health, the number of workers affected by mental health issues is enormous.

The CWU wants to teach reps and members to spot the early signs of a problem, stop it getting worse, help sufferers to recover sooner and reduce the stigma attached to mental health problems as well as identifying problems that may need to be addressed in a workplace, and measures that can be taken by employers to make a workplace ‘mentally healthy’. Trade Unions and the TUC collectively want to find ways to prevent mental health problems arising, and to work with employers to enable people with a mental health condition to continue in work.

The Health, Safety & Environment Department has worked with a number of branches and charities in CWU regions to help organise and encourage CWU reps to attend the two-day “Mental Health First Aid” training courses and these courses have now been successfully organised in a number of CWU branches, areas and regions including Northern Ireland, East, North East, North West and others.

The Health, Safety & Environment Department and NEC H,S&E Sub-Committee would like to see more CWU representatives undergoing these training courses in order to recognise and assist members in distress. Health and Safety Representatives as well as Branch and Industrial Relations Representatives are encouraged to sign-up for and attend a MHFA 2-Day Course.

Courses are organised regularly across the UK by Mental Health First Aid (England and Scotland) as well as by a number of mental health charities (‘MIND’ and ‘Rethink’ for example).  Remploy, training organisations, regional TUCs and a number of Local Authorities sponsor the Courses in their catchment areas, enabling the training to be provided free or at a nominal fee price. Additionally many training organisations, companies and colleges now provide the courses. The MHFA training courses are delivered by trainers who are licensed and accredited by the MHFA Organisations.

The Health, Safety & Environment Department would encourage and recommend that enquiries are made locally to establish availability and seek volunteers from amongst representatives to attend these training courses. The Health, Safety & Environment Department is available to assist wherever required. See attached summary information about the Mental Health First Aid 2-day training course content below. 

Mental Health, Stress, Depression and Anxiety are at epidemic levels in the UK and the Suicide rates are a big concern. The CWU will continue to call for better support for people experiencing mental health problems to help prevent suicides and enable people to lead full and fulfilling lives with manageable conditions. However lack of support means many people are growing increasingly desperate. It needs to be made easier for people to find help without shame or stigma at work as well as at home and in the community. We also need to raise awareness generally to ensure those in distress are recognised and signposted to get professional help and support before it’s too late. 

Course Aims – Spotting The Signs - Early Intervention and Support

Mental health problems cover a wide range of issues including stress, anxiety, depression and substance abuse which can affect someone’s ability to get on with their daily life. Early intervention can help slow down or stop a mental health problem and lead to a faster recovery. However, most of us know little about mental health. We often don’t spot the signs that someone else - or ourselves - is struggling until very late. A MHFA course will teach you to recognise the early signs of a mental health problem, and give you the confidence and knowledge to help someone experiencing a mental health problem on a first aid basis, help stop someone from hurting themselves or others, help stop things from getting worse, guide those in need towards the right support and reduce the stigma of mental health problems.

The 2-Day Mental Health First Aid Training Course Overview and Description:

The Adult MHFA course is usually a 12-hour course which takes place over two full days.

The sessions will be a mix of presentations, discussions, and group work activities. MHFA accredited instructors provide a safe learning environment and are trained to support students throughout the whole course. If students don’t feel comfortable joining in certain parts, then there is no pressure to.

Due to some of the sensitive subjects of the courses, numbers are usually limited to 16 people. MHFA want everyone to feel safe and instructors can help if people find some parts particularly difficult.

Everyone who attends the course will receive a copy of the MHFA manual and workbook, which are both excellent support resources. When students have completed the course they will receive a certificate to confirm that they are a trained Mental Health First Aider.

The two day Adult MHFA course is an internationally recognised course. After taking it, participants will be able to:

• Recognise the symptoms of mental health issues
• Provide initial help
• Guide a person towards appropriate professional help
• MHFA won't teach participants how to be a therapist, but once they have completed the two day course they will be able to say they are a Mental Health First Aider. 

MHFA licensed instructors deliver training that has been designed to fit into four manageable chunks. These are:

• Mental Health First Aid, mental health, and depression
• Depression (cont.) and suicidal crisis
• Anxiety, personality disorders, eating disorders and self-harm
• Psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

In each section students learn how to:

• Spot the early signs of a mental health issue
• Feel confident helping someone experiencing a mental health issue
• Provide help on a first aid basis
• Help prevent someone from hurting themselves or others
• Help stop a mental health issue from getting worse
• Help someone recover faster
• Guide someone towards the right support
• Reduce the stigma of mental health issues.

Conclusion

Around 6,500 people kill themselves in the UK each year and 50,000 more attempt suicide. The figures are truly shocking. And the increased numbers make the need to address the problem all the more necessary and urgent. The highest risks of suicide are among those with depression and mental health problems. There is no doubt about the message we must all take from these latest figures. Mental Health issues and in particular Suicide is a problem we all have a duty to address.

Not just shocking for every family, every friend connected with those individual tragedies. Not just for the doctors and nurses who may in some cases have been trying to help. But it should shock us all. Every Employer and every work colleague, everyone in our society. The causes are likely to be multiple and for the most part, responsibility is collective. Not singular.  It's not therefore someone else’s problem. It is our problem.

If we can move away from the simplistic idea that it’s a problem for “them” and not “us”, in recognising our collective role we might just be able to begin to make a difference and do our bit to try to turn these figures around. We can’t be sure we will bring the figures down but we have a duty to try - Every single one of us.

And that’s what we hope the Union can do and working with the employers we can do – So please consider getting reps in your Branches, Areas and Regions trained and involved and start moving mental health to an equal place at the top table of our thinking.

Mental Health problems are common especially for those suffering with severe depression or anxiety. How many people, young and old are now suffering the pain of problems of mental health?  98% of people over the age of 30, who take their own lives, have a history of mental illness.

Mental Health First Aid is exactly what it suggests, a first aid approach to mental health.

Source: Dave Joyce / CWU

You can find a number of items of resource on mental health in the E-Library Database using search categories 'Mental Health' and 'Stress'

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