ADULT Mental Health First Aid course ONLINE - 4 evenings (total 16 hours)

In response to Covid 19 MHFA (England) have adapted their adult mental health first aider course for online delivery. The course uses all the original material and maintains the full standing of the face to face training and accreditation by The Royal Society for Public Health.

You must be a resident of the Dorking area and surrounding villages to qualify for attendance. We reserve the right to cancel your place on the course. Please contact us if you are unsure about eligibility.

YOU WILL NEED TO ATTEND ALL 4 ONLINE SESSIONS IN FULL AND SUBMIT ALL REQUIRED PREPARATORY WORK IN ADVANCE OF EACH SESSION IN ORDER TO BE ACCREDITED BY MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID (ENGLAND)

12 OCTOBER 19:00-21:00 (MONDAY)

16 OCTOBER 19:00-21:00 (FRIDAY)

19 OCTOBER 19:00-21:00 (MONDAY)

23 OCTOBER 19:00-21:00 (FRIDAY)

Our Online Adult MHFA 16 HOUR course qualifies you as a Mental Health First Aider. The total commitment is 16 hours, 8 hours guided learning and 8 hours individual study.

Mental Health First Aiders have:

• An in-depth understanding of mental health and factors that affect wellbeing

• Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental health issues

• Confidence to reassure and support a person in distress

• Enhanced interpersonal skills such as non-judgemental listening

• Knowledge to help a person recover their health by guiding them to further support – whether that’s through self-help sites, their place of learning, the NHS, or a mix – engaging with parents, carers and external agencies where appropriate

• Ability to support people with long-term mental health issues or disability to thrive

• Tools to look after your own mental wellbeing

We limit numbers to 16 people per course so that the instructor can keep people safe and supported while they learn. The tutor will be held individual meetings by telephone or video call if support is needed outside the sessions.

Learning takes place across 4 x 2 hour online sessions using Zoom which requires you to have access to suitable video and sound enabled technology. We recommend a PC, laptop or tablet rather than using a phone for the best experience. There will be a comfort agreement in place to ensure the online experience feels safe for all participants.

Each online session will require you to complete 2 hours preparatory reading and homework which will have to be submitted in advance of the session as Learning is through a mix of group activities, presentations and discussions, each session is built around a Mental Health First Aid action plan. You will get an MHFA manual in advance of the course to keep and refer to whenever you need it.

When you complete the 8 hours online guided learning and 8 hours personal study you'll get a certificate from MHFA England to say you are a Mental Health First Aider.

The course normally costs £300 but we subsidise this heavily through our independent fundraising in order to make it accessible to all. If you cannot afford the reduced course fee of £60 (plus booking fee) we offer a number of concessionary places on each course at a rate which covers the cost of the training manual.

What others have said about the course content.

“A practical and insightful course which has benefitted me personally and made me feel able to support others in getting help”

"Really useful, made me think a lot about the way we don't talk about mental health simply because we don't know what to do once we've encouraged someone to open up to us."

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Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses are for everyone who works with, lives with or supports adults. They will teach you the skills and confidence to spot the signs of mental health issues, offer first aid and guide them towards the support they need. In doing so, you can speed up a person’s recovery and stop a mental health issue from getting worse.

Our courses won't teach you to be a therapist, but we will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis - and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.

But more than that, we aim to give you the information, skills and insight to look after your own mental health so that you can set an example for young people. By giving you the tools to have these conversations, we hope to empower you to create a mentally healthy, supportive environment in your family, school, peer group or community.

Let's create a future where mental health is treated as a normal part of life, in the same way as physical health. A future where every young person has access to support if they need it.