Mental Health First Aid Two Day – Open Course

Description

Who this course is for

The people in your organisation who others already go to. Managers and team leaders, HR, union representatives, and the colleagues who somehow end up being told things. Formalising that role, and giving those people a framework and some limits, is most of the value.

It is a two-day commitment and it asks something of you. If you want the whole workforce to understand mental health without that depth, the half-day awareness course is the proportionate option, and many organisations run both: a handful of Mental Health First Aiders supported by broad awareness across everyone else.

What you will be able to do afterwards

• Understand mental health and the things that affect wellbeing at work and outside it
• Spot the triggers and early signs that someone is struggling
• Step in, start the conversation and reassure someone in distress
• Listen without judging, which is harder and more useful than it sounds
• Guide someone towards support: self-help, their GP, workplace provision, the NHS or a combination
• Recognise a crisis and know what to do in one
• Know where your role ends, and look after your own wellbeing while doing it

What it is not

Worth being blunt, because it prevents the most common failure. A Mental Health First Aider is not a counsellor, not a therapist and not a substitute for occupational health or clinical care. The course does not qualify anyone to diagnose or to treat.

The role is the same shape as a physical first aider: recognise, respond, get proper help involved. Organisations that get value from this train people and then support them. Organisations that do not, train people and then quietly expect them to absorb everything the business is not dealing with.

Is it a legal requirement?

No. There is no law requiring a mental health first aider, and no ratio of them to staff. What does exist is the general duty to assess risks to your employees’ health, and stress and mental ill health are risks like any other.

We set out where the law actually sits, and where the “first aid needs assessment should cover mental health” argument holds and where it does not, in is mental health first aid a legal requirement?

How you are assessed

This is a learning course rather than an examined one. The two days are built around discussion, scenarios and reflection, and everyone who completes them receives the certificate. What you get out of it depends heavily on what you put in, which is why we would rather have eight people who want to be there than sixteen who were sent.

Your options

	Two-day open course	Two-day group course	Awareness
Length	12 hours over two days	12 hours, can be split	Half day
Outcome	Mental Health First Aider	Mental Health First Aider	Awareness, not the qualification
Charged	Per person	Per course	Per person
Best for	One or two people	Building a team of first aiders at once	The whole workforce

The group course runs at your workplace or a venue you arrange, over two consecutive days or two separate ones. There is also an accredited online version delivered live through a remote learning platform, which suits organisations whose people are spread out.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the Mental Health First Aid course?

Twelve hours, normally over two consecutive days. On a group course it can be split across two separate days if that works better for your rota.

How long does the certificate last?

Three years, after which it is renewed.

Who awards the qualification?

MHFA England. We are registered with them to deliver this course.

Is there an exam?

No. It is a discussion and scenario-based course, and everyone who completes the two days receives the certificate.

Is a mental health first aider a legal requirement?

No, and there is no required ratio. The underlying duty is to assess risks to your employees’ health, which includes stress and mental ill health. Appointing mental health first aiders is one common response to that, not a legal obligation in itself.

What is the difference between this and the awareness course?

The two-day course qualifies someone as a Mental Health First Aider and goes into depth on recognising, responding and signposting. The half-day awareness session builds understanding across a workforce but does not produce the qualification.

Can it be delivered online?

Yes. We run an accredited online version delivered live by a tutor through a remote learning platform, with the same content adapted for the format.

How many mental health first aiders should we have?

There is no set number. Think about how people are distributed rather than headcount: across sites, across shifts, and across the groups who would actually approach them. One person covering four sites is a title, not a provision.

Is the course difficult for people with their own experience of mental ill health?

Some of the content can be close to home, and we say so beforehand rather than after. Many of the best mental health first aiders have their own experience. Tell us in advance if anything would help, and people are free to step out of a session at any point.

Want to work out how many people you need trained and at what level? Call 0845 838 4643 or use the enquiry form.