What does being Mental Health First Aider mean to me?

What is your understanding of mental health first aid?

Mental Health First Aid is when we help another person to get through an acute mental health crisis, for example a psychological trigger or a panic attack, often using techniques learned from Mental Health First Aider courses. We may also signpost the person to a professional mental health service, as appropriate, and make sure they get home safely if they are not well enough to continue working.

Why is prioritising mental health important for workplaces?

Prioritising employee mental health is good for the organisation and for the workforce; a win: win situation. 

Good mental health can improve sickness absence levels, increase retention, and help employees thrive in their roles. Physical and psychological safety and wellbeing are of paramount importance; it is unlikely an individual can be fully engaged in their role unless that basic need has been met, and continues to be met.

What made you decide to enrol in the training? 

I was booked to do my Mental Health First Aider course when my last employer (Together for Mental Wellbeing) was about to implement the MHFA scheme for their employees. However, I resigned to become self-employed. Still keen to do this training, when an MHFA trainer (Sharron Moffatt) approached me on LinkedIn and offered me a discounted place (due to my charity work) I jumped at the chance. I enjoyed the two-day interactive online course, and have since put what I learned to use several times within my business network, and also at home (the techniques can work just as well for de-escalating autistic meltdowns).

How can leaders implement it with their employees? Is there anything other way to prioritise mental health, besides doing MHFA training?

Psychological safety and mental well-being should be a key component of any people strategy, but even then mental health crises are inevitable, so having MHFAers gives an added layer of protection. 

Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), private health insurance, and occupational health schemes can also help, although the quality and breadth of support varies greatly.

What really helps MHFA schemes get off to a good start is getting buy-in at executive level. Appoint an executive sponsor who gets it, and they can do a short presentation about MHFA in an all staff meeting. Volunteers will come forward, so select a team, for example one for each office or business area and one of two for home-workers, then book them onto the training course. Volunteers will need to be able to fit in the occasional MHFA work in around their day job; this should not be additional unpaid work, as that is not fair to them. You could consider paying an allowance for this, and/or writing it into their objectives, so they can be recognised for this valuable work. 

Can you talk me through an example where your training has been used successfully?

Recently I noticed that a friend in a WhatsApp community seemed to be in a sensitive and volcanic mood. From how she was communicating it seemed to me that she was not okay, so I contacted her by DM, and offered her a WhatsApp video call. I was right, she was in a state of high anxiety, partly due to a recent undisclosed trauma. Fortunately I was able to calm her down and ground her, using techniques learned on the course. By the end of the call, she felt considerably better.

I have also been on the receiving end of MHFA. In 2022, I approached my manager to casually ask her about an unexpected piece of work I had received, but mid-sentence I suddenly became acutely overwhelmed and had a panic attack. I could not continue talking, I struggled to breathe, my heart was racing, my fists tightly clenched, and tears streamed down my face (in front of my teammates). Donna was my line manager, and I had known her for fifteen years, but when she calmly led me to a nearby empty meeting room, she used MHFA techniques to de-escalate and ground me, as well as basic compassion and caring. She insisted on driving me home (as I had cycled to work that day), and urged me to speak to my doctor about my clearly deteriorating mental health. Donna effectively helped me through that episode, with a long-term positive effect on my wellbeing; she showed me the direction to recovery. I have since been diagnosed with Complex PTSD. That is one of the reasons I wanted to do the MHFA course myself, as a tangible way to help individuals in distress.