Mental Health First Aider
The weather was so stunning this weekend – the first weekend of the year with wall-to-wall sunshine! I spent it in an online classroom 9am until 5pm (with additional homework on top) doing the Mental Health First Aider (MHFA) course. And it was well worth it!
The course covers:
- Tools for having mental health conversations
- The clinical and social support networks to signpost to
- Mental health – the language and getting comfortable about talking about it
- The mental health continuum
- First aid for suicidal crisis and depression
- Anxiety, personality disorders, eating disorders and self harm
- Psychosis
- Recovery and the importance of family, friends and work
I would recommend this course to everyone. The goal from MHFA England (which is run as a Non-for-Profit) is to get 1 in 4 adults in England to attend the course. This would really help to change some of the stigma, incorrect beliefs and mistakes that can be made at the moment. I was lucky to attend with a group of Personal Trainers, Cycling coaches – and we all saw the benefits of exercise as one of the common self-management methods for people (their ‘happy place’) and the supportive role that coaches and members of training groups can play.
I’d just like to pick out 2 themes that I think are useful:
- Just like physical health – mental health can have healing parts from acute incidents, as well as self-management parts for more long-term situations. I have heard conversations in the past where people thought that mental health is binary and fundamentally in someone’s identity. This video about a hockey player called Chris shows how people can move through different phases (with help and support) – just like they would with a physical injury. Indeed, it was clear that some people through their recovery process can develop specific super-strengths (that they would not have otherwise had) making them even better at navigating life successfully in the future.
2. The section of the course covering suicidal crisis was obviously very challenging. There are a couple of really important thoughts that I took away from this part. Firstly, a large proportion of people who die by suicide don’t want to die – they just want the overwhelming suffering to stop. Secondly, talking about it does not increase the probability of death by suicide – indeed asking somebody whether they have plans is probably the most important question you will ever ask! So it is worth rehearsing it into the mirror for yourself – so that you can say it calmly and with kindness when the time comes (and it is likely to – since close to 7,000 people die by suicide each year in the UK – 3x more than road traffic accidents – and 10-20 times this attempt suicide – and it is estimated that a further 10-20 times this number have suicidal thoughts). I have decided that my phrasing is ‘Tell me, are you thinking about ending your life?’. Obviously – you also need to be ready for the answer yes and to listen further to their feelings, thinking, plans and ideas – and this is where 999, the Samaritans and the GP are your go-to high-speed support.
I wanted to share this on my blog, as there is a need for all of us to get more comfortable about talking about these areas. The course is excellent. For coaches there is a way to access this £300 training course and materials for £85. I know that the website is a little complex – so if you need the link (and indeed I have a referral code!) please get in touch. I am really glad that I attended this course – even worth missing two lovely, sunny days!