First Aid for Mental Health

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We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Mental ill health can strike at any time and can affect people from all walks of life, something we have become particularly aware of following the Covid-19 pandemic. Although things are improving, stigma still exists around mental ill health. As a society, we don't tend to know how to take care of our mental health like we do our physical health. This means that people may not know how to support a friend, family member or colleague experiencing poor mental health, or where to go for support for their own mental health.

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First Aid in Mental Health (also available in Spanish as Primeros Auxilios en Salud Mental) is a training course which teaches people how to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue. This course 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.

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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 primary care centre, 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.

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If your organisation would like to take part in a First Aid for Mental Health course, in English or in Spanish, please get in touch. I can deliver the course online on Zoom and across mainland Spain.