Mental Health First Aid

We​'re delighted to be able to offer Mental Health First Aid training within the County.
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“I feel like I have a good understanding and more knowledge on mental health. Very good training and instructor – I will recommend the course to others.”

Mental Health First Aid Survey (February 2022)?

Our first Adult MHFA course is being rolled out this month to twelve of our Commissioners. We would like to offer this more widely in the county over the coming months. To get a picture of who has already completed this training, for example through their work, and who is interested in accessing training via the county, we'd like everyone to complete the survey linked below. This will allow us to map out which units already have a Mental Health First Aider among their volunteer team, and who would like to access the training through Girlguiding Gloucestershire.  

What is Mental Health First Aid?

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an internationally recognised training course which teaches people how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and provide help on a first aid basis. 

MHFA England training won’t teach you to be a therapist, but just like physical first aid, it will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis. 

Girlguiding Gloucestershire’s Adult MHFA courses are for volunteers aged 18 upwards. Every MHFA England course is delivered by a quality assured Instructor Member who has attended the MHFA England Instructor Training programme accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health, and is trained to keep people safe and supported while they learn.

Becoming a Mental Health First Aider

This course trains you as a Mental Health First Aider, giving you:
  • 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

Format

  • This is an online course.
  • Learning takes place through four live training sessions, spread across two days, with self-learning activities in between. See course structure section below for full detail.
  • The live sessions are delivered via the Zoom platform.
  • The self-learning activities are via the MHFA England Online Learning Hub.
  • Each session is built around a Mental Health First Aid action plan.
  • We limit numbers to 16 people per course so that the instructor can keep people safe and supported while they learn

Takeaways

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
  • A workbook including a helpful toolkit to support your own mental health

Accessibility

  • Course materials are available in large print. Please indicate if you need this version during the booking process
  • Closed captions are available during the Live Sessions

More Information

The full course information can be downloaded below.

Badges

Everyone attending the course will be given a Mental Health First Aider badger which they can wear on their uniform.