Mental Health First Aid - what is it? By Jenni Cole

What does being a Mental Health First aider mean? A lot of companies are training staff. A great step towards ending the stigma around Mental ill health.

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As we open up the discussions around mental health. more and more people are being trained to become Mental Health First Aiders.

What is a Mental Health First Aider?

It all started on a dog walk in Australia in 2000 when a nurse, teacher and counsellor called Betty Kitchener and her husband Tony Jorm (Professor at the University of Melbourne in mental disorders) came up with the idea together. They wanted to complement the physical first aid model and allow people to gain skills and knowledge to assist with mental health first aid to drive support into the community.

In 2007 MHFA launched in the UK through the Department of Health as part of a national approach to improve public mental health. There are now approximately 10 000 new first aiders trained each month in the UK and over 3 million trained in over 25 countries worldwide.

Why Train?

It gives you understanding, skills and a tool kit to be able to approach and listen to someone who is experiencing mental health concerns, understand how to give support and signpost them to both professional and personal help.

It’s a full 2 days of training that provides you with a wealth of knowledge, materials and resources to support yourself, those you love and others in the wider community or in your place of work.

Mental Health starts with you!

It’s never too late to learn, grow and gain new skills.

If you would like to find out how to train people in your organisation or community please get in touch: 01737-224602

Ase Greenacre

Founder & facilitator , MRT Consultants
