Adult Online MHFA Course

Our Adult MHFA Course, which is now available as an online course, qualifies you as a full Mental Health First Aider. This qualification lasts for 3 years and can be extended for a further 3 years by taking the 4 hour Refresher course.

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Mental Health First Aiders have:

• An in depth understanding of mental health and the factors that can affect wellbeing

• 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 further support - whether that’s self-help resources, through their employer, the NHS, or a mix.

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COST:

£300  per person or £3,000 (Discounted to £2,700) for in-house training with up to 16 delegates (or 12 online).

NEXT ONLINE COURSES:

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6th and 8th Dec

5th and 7th Jan

8th and 10th Feb

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(Made up of 

2 x 9.30am - 5pm days - mix of live online sessions and private study)

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ONLINE TRAINING:

What to expect:

• This is an online course delivered through the MHFA England Online Learning Hub

• Learning takes place through four live training sessions, spread across two weeks (rather than the usual two full days with face-to-face sessions), with self-learning activities in between. See course structure section below for more detail. 

• Each session is built around a Mental Health First Aid action plan.

• You will receive an MHFA manual in advance of the sessions to keep and refer to whenever you need it. 

• Everyone who completes the course gets a certificate of attendance to say you are a Mental Health First Aider, a manual to refer to whenever you need it, a quick reference card for the Mental Health First Aid action plan and a workbook including a helpful toolkit to support your own mental health

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Online course structure:

The course structure differs slightly with it being delivered online. There are still 4 sessions covering all the same content as the face-to-face course but just a mix of individual learning and live sessions. 

Session 1

Individual learning (1 hour) - pre-course:

• Introduction to the Online Mental Health First Aid course and the Online Learning Hub (course overview, safety procedure, attending live sessions, and completing individual learning activities)

• Activity 1: Why Mental Health First Aid?

• Activity 2: The Mental Health First Aid action plan

• Activity 3: What is mental health?

• Activity 4: Quiz: Impact of mental health

• Activity 5: Stress Container (completed after live session)

• Activity 6: Frame of Reference (completed after live session)
   

Live session (2 hour 30 minutes):

• Introduction to course functions

• Introduction to the course

• ALGEE and mental health introduction recap

• Stigma

• Risk and protective factors

• 10 minute break

• Frame of Reference

• The Mental Health Continuum

• Introduction to the Stress Container

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Session 2

Individual learning (2 hours):

• Activity 7: What is depression?

• Activity 8: Risk factors for depression

• Activity 9: Mental Health First Aid for depression

• Activity 10: Introduction to suicide
   

Live session (2 hours 30 minutes):

• Recap of individual learning on depression

• Prevalence of suicide

• Suicide, substance misuse and dual diagnosis

• Analyse the impact of suicidal feelings

• Recap of ALGEE and risk factors for suicide

• Explain Mental Health First Aid action plan 1 for suicide

• 10 minute break

• Explain non-judgemental listening, Empathy video

• Practice using ALGEE in case study scenarios

• Review of ALGEE for suicide and depression

• Self-care

Session 3

Individual learning (2 hours):

• Activity 11: What is anxiety?

• Activity 12: Mental Health First Aid for anxiety

• Activity 13: What are eating disorders?

• Activity 14: Mental Health First Aid for eating disorders

• Activity 15: What is self-harm?

• Activity 16: Mental Health First Aid for self-harm

• Activity 17: What are personality disorders?
   

Live session (2 hours 30 minutes):

• Recap of individual learning of anxiety

• Recap of the five basic steps of ALGEE for anxiety

• Explain action 1 for anxiety

• How to support someone who is having a panic attack

• Explain crisis first aid

• Practice action 2: non-judgemental listening

• 10 minute break

• Practice applying the MHFA action plan for anxiety

• Recap of ALGEE for anxiety

• Explain cognitive behavioural therapy

• Recap of eating disorders and self-harm

• Case study for eating disorders and self-harm

• Review ALGEE for eating disorders and self-harm

Session 4

Individual learning (2 hours):

• Activity 18: What are psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder?

• Activity 19: Risk factors for psychosis

• Activity 20: Mental Health First Aid for psychosis

• Activity 21: Helpful and unhelpful responses

• Workbook Activity 10: My action plan for using Mental Health First Aid (completed after live session)
   

Live session (2 hours): 

• Review of individual learning on psychosis

• Explain the development of symptoms of psychosis

• Review the five steps of ALGEE for psychosis

• Group discussion about MHFA Australia psychosis video

• Case study activity using Mental Health First Aid action plan for psychosis

• 10 minute break

• Recovery

• Explore how to build a mentally healthy workplace

• Start action plan to use Mental Health First Aid

• Feedback

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FACE-TO-FACE TRAINING:

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As and when it is appropriate and safe to, we will be offering face-to-face training again as well.

What to expect:

• We limit numbers to 16 people per course so that we can keep people safe and supported while they learn.

• You will get an MHFA manual to keep and refer to whenever you need it. When you complete the 2 days you'll get a certificate to say you are a Mental Health First Aider. Learning takes place across four manageable sessions.

• Through a mix of group activities, presentations and discussions, each session is built around a Mental Health First Aid action plan

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Session 1

• Why Mental Health First Aid?

• The Mental Health First Aid action plan

• What is mental health?

• Impact of mental health issues

• Stigma and discrimination

• What is depression?

• Symptoms of depression

• Risk factors for depression

• Depression in the workplace

Session 2

• Suicide figures

• Alcohol, drugs and mental health

• First aid for suicidal crisis

• Non-judgemental listening skills

• First aid for depression

• Treatment and resources for depression

• Self-care

Session 3

• What is an anxiety disorder?

• First aid for anxiety disorders

• Crisis first aid after a traumatic event

• Alcohol, drugs and anxiety disorders

• Treatment and resources for anxiety disorders

• Cognitive distortions and CBT

• Personality disorders

• Eating disorders

• Self-harm

Session 4

• What is psychosis?

• Risk factors for psychosis

• Alcohol, drugs and psychosis

• Schizophrenia

• Bipolar disorder

• Warning signs of developing psychosis

• Crisis first aid for acute psychosis

• Treatment and resources for psychosis

• Recovery and building resources

• Action planning for using MHFA