Support and develop your Mental Health First Aiders Support is vital to successfully embed MHFA England training into an organisation, and to allow Mental Health First Aiders to perform their role safely and effectively. Here are some examples of support strategies which have proven successful:
– Raise mental health awareness and tackle stigma throughout the organisation to help create an environment where people feel empowered to contact their Mental Health First Aiders for support. Some organisations do this by: װ Circulating free resources and information, e.g. My Whole Self Address Your Stress Take 10 Together Every Mind Matters Mental Health at Work װ Inviting in speakers with lived experience of mental ill health or subject experts to deliver a talk or lunch and learn session
– Follow up after the course with a conference call or meeting. Make sure everyone feels comfortable in their new role, provide written documentation (see page 6 ) and answer any questions around how it works in your organisation. – Set up a Mental Health First Aider network with a clear remit for support and idea sharing. This should be overseen by someone with an HR background or the person who is leading the initiative. The network should meet regularly and is an opportunity to remind Mental Health First Aiders to look out for their own wellbeing too. – Empower Mental Health First Aiders to maintain their skills with regular refresher training. We recommend attending an MHFA Refresher course (half a day’s training) every three years, in line with physical first aid training. – Keep track of when people leave the organisation and more MHFA England training is needed to maintain numbers. – Review and report on the impact of the training regularly, either manually or using the reporting function of the Mental Health First Aider Support app
Links Measuring the impact infographic includes tips for measuring the impact of MHFA England training and other health and wellbeing initiatives
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