This remote workshop will be delivered over two half-day sessions. First session is on 16th May 2025 and second session is on 23rd May 2025, both sessions are scheduled in the morning between 09:30am -13:00pm.

In a normal year, one in four adults will experience a mental health problem. This year it will be more.

Almost half of people who are in problem debt also have a mental health problem. Understanding the way that poor finances and poor mental health cause and exacerbate each other, resulting in so many people with mental health problems ending up in Collections Departments, is important.

Being aware of the range of mental health problems and their impact on a person’s ability to manage their finances is a vital part of understanding your customers and supporting them to achieve good outcomes, both of which are expectations of the FCA.

Now more than ever it is crucial that your customer facing colleagues are armed with the knowledge and the tools they need to identify and support customers living with mental health problems.

This course has been developed to address these specific needs and to provide your firm with the knowledge to make sure you meet your responsibilities to your customers, colleagues and the FCA.

Delivered by Zoom, our new virtual classroom is designed to give your staff the skills to identify a customer facing mental health problems, have a conversation to understand their situation, take action and signpost to further support.

The trainer: Zoe Medlock - Vulnerability Consultant

Zoe Medlock is an expert in consumer vulnerability strategy and implementation. Zoe specialises in mental health and works with the Money and Mental Health Institute to assess firms against their Mental Health Accessible Standard.

Prior to this, Zoe was involved in leading the team responsible for developing and delivering a leading UK bank’s vulnerability strategy.

Course aim

The aim of this course is to provide learners with the skills required to communicate with and support a vulnerable consumer, with a mental health condition effectively.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Identify the challenges customers with mental health problems may face in their day to day life

• Identify the impact of not supporting customers with mental health problems can have on their firm and colleagues

• Apply conversational techniques to have a conversation with customers with mental health problems

• Apply conversational techniques to manage the disclosure of a mental health problem

• Demonstrate how to record vulnerable consumer information, in line with data protection regulations

• Explain what support options are available to a customer with mental health problems

Who is this for?

This course is intended for those who are in consumer-facing roles that are likely to encounter and interact with customers who have mental health problems.

Supporting customers with mental health conditions