A big part of my vision at Optimise, is to support workplace wellbeing by training and developing new and existing mental health first aiders.
I often get asked questions about the qualification, so here are a few answers.
1. What is the Mental Health First Aid qualification?
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a training course which teaches people how to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue.
MHFA won’t teach you to be a therapist, but it will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis – and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.
You’ll learn to recognise warning signs of mental ill health and develop the skills and confidence to approach and support someone while keeping yourself safe.
You’ll also learn how to empower someone to access the support they might need for recovery or successful management of symptoms. This could include self-help books or websites, accessing therapy services through their GP, their school or place of work, online self-referral, support groups, and more.
What’s more, you’ll gain an understanding of how to support positive wellbeing and tackle stigma in the world around you.
By becoming an MHFAider® with us you’ll have access to continuous support – well beyond your initial certification – so you are confident, empowered and motivated to carry out your role. You will get three years’ access to MHFAider® support and benefits which includes 24/7 digital support through the MHFAider Support App®. From there, you will find exclusive resources, ongoing learning opportunities and the benefit of joining England’s largest community of trained MHFAiders®.
2. Why choose MHFA (England) and their accredited programmes?
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA®) England is a social enterprise with a vision to improve the mental health of the nation.
They are the largest provider of Mental Health First Aid training in the UK and Europe, with over ten years of experience supporting businesses to create and sustain healthier workplaces.
Their mission is to train one in ten people in mental health awareness and skills.
Their products help to support organisations to manage health and wellbeing proactively, minimise the impact of mental ill health on the business and people, and promote and maintain healthy workplaces.
3. What is the format of the programme?
Online or face-to-face course structured across four flexible sessions. Each session is a maximum of 3hrs 45mins and sessions can be delivered within a two week period.
Learners will be trained over four live sessions with an MHFA England Instructor Member, covering 14 hours of content in total.
Learning takes place through a mix of instructor led training, group discussions, individual and group activities.
Each session builds on the previous, enabling the learner to gain confidence in supporting others with a Mental Health First Aid action plan.
We limit numbers to 16 people per course so that instructors can keep people safe and supported while they learn.
We strive for all of our learning content to be as accessible and inclusive as possible.
4. What resources do you get with the course?
Everyone who completes this course gets:
- A hard copy workbook to support their learning throughout the course
- A digital manual to refer to whenever they need it after completing the course
- A wallet-sized reference card with the Mental Health First Aid action plan
- A digital MHFAider® certificate
- Access to the MHFAider Support App® for three years
- Access to ongoing learning opportunities, resources and exclusive events
- The opportunity to be part of the largest MHFAider® community in England
5. How much does the MHFA qualification cost?
MHFA (England) value the cost of the course at £325 per person.
Open Programmes
Optimise deliver an open programme that is available to anyone from different organisations.
With funding, we are able to offer a discounted price of £299 per person for this course which is exceptional value with the expert facilitated workshops alongside the above resources.
Organisational Programme
We also deliver programmes internally within organisations with between 6 and 16 participants per cohort.
These programmes can be discounted. Please contact us a for a price.