MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING

One of our primary goals for Let’s Talk, Stansted! is to build a team of individuals with recognised training to support those in our community with mental health worries. We would like individuals, businesses, service providers and community group leaders to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing and make provision for support.

We’ve teamed up with Mind in West Essex, and other training providers who have agreed to run Mental Health courses on our behalf.

AWARENESS TRAINING
There are a number of short courses, including online programmes, which will teach you more about mental health issues, suicide awareness and specialist subjects such as workplace health or working with young people. Please check the list of links on this page for more details. Not all of these courses are free, but if you wish to take a course and are struggling financially please get in touch with us via email contact@stanstedmentalhealth.org 

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID (MHFA)
Developed in Australia in 2001 and now internationally recognised in 26 countries, the MHFA course will teach you 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. This course is designed and delivered using evidence-based knowledge and skills that will equip you to be a really effective and kind helper, as well as save lives.

The course is for anyone aged 16+ who wants to learn how to support adults, reduce stigma and discrimination, as well as learning about good self-care to improve their own wellbeing.

In the same way as we learn physical first aid, Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to recognise those crucial early warning signs of mental ill health. You’ll gain the skills and confidence to work with residents in the community. We also believe that having at least one person in every organisation with Mental Health First Aid skills will be a huge asset to the mental health and wellbeing of businesses and community groups.

The full MHFA certification course is usually a mixture of live online group sessions on Zoom, plus study/practice in your own time along with some online research. The weekly Zoom calls will be around 2 hours long and we anticipate participants needing several additional hours each week to work in their own time. You’ll receive a workbook, resources guide and other materials and a certificate on completion of the programme.

YOUR COMMITMENT

Training is expensive and we’re fortunate to be able to offer most of our programmes free of charge (they usually cost as much as £200 per person). Please consider the requirements carefully and our expectations for our first aid team.

If you register for the course please be sure that you have the time free for ALL the training sessions. We want every student to complete their course.

Commit yourself now to using the knowledge and skills you’ll gain to support our community in the future. As part of the Let’s Talk, Stansted! team, there will be a growing number of opportunities to work in the community with local groups, on our online support services and directly with individuals. And your skills will be invaluable in your business or workplace. The work is voluntary but we anticipate that all our first aiders will commit to a few hours each week to support others, although we recognise that you have other commitments too.

You will also be asked to agree to our safeguarding policies which are here: http://www.stanstedmentalhealth.org/safeguarding/ . These cover ways of working, reporting and protecting yourself, the organisation and the community. 

Places are on a first come, first served basis, and you can register using the links and contacts on this page. If you can’t commit to the courses listed, don’t worry. Other courses are being planned for the future and we hope they will include evening/weekend courses and shorter courses on mental health awareness. Look out for announcements by email.