Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)?

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training teaches participants how to recognise the early signs of stress and mental health problems and to respond appropriately. It’s about providing support rather than solutions.

So I am sure that you have heard of First Aid but what is Mental Health First Aid?

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) are evidence-based courses, approved by the Royal Society for Public Health. The training teaches participants to recognise the early signs of stress and mental health problems and to respond appropriately. It’s about providing support rather than solutions.

Since the Mental Health First Aid concept was founded in Australia more than a decade ago, mental health first aid training has spread around the world to countries like New Zealand, the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Denmark, Sweden and the UK.

With 91 million working days lost to mental ill-health per year, employers are increasingly aware of the impact that employee stress has on company productivity.

The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses teach participants to:

• Spot the early signs of stress and mental health problems
• Prevent mental health problems from getting worse
• Feel confident in helping someone experiencing a problem in the first instance
• Guide someone towards the right support
• Create an open forum where stress and mental well-being can be discussed

By completing an MHFA course, delegates are likely to see an increase in knowledge and understanding of mental health, an increase in personal confidence of supporting themselves and others and a greater awareness of issues relating to well-being.

As approved providers of the Adult MHFA 2 day, 1 day and 4 hour courses, Altruist Enterprises have already helped organisations like West Midlands Fire Service, Adient and Stoke on Trent City Council to better manage stress and mental health problems within their workplaces.

Read our client testimonials or find out more about our 2 day Mental Health First Aid, Online Mental Health First Aid, or Half Day Mental Health First Aid and Half Day Mental Health First Aid Webinar training.

Katie Buckingham

Katie founded Altruist Enterprises in 2013. Since then, she has grown Altruist into a nationwide provider of mental health and resilience training. Katie is a seasoned public speaker and innovator of bespoke mental health courses. In 2022, Katie won the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize awarded by Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge and Cambridge Judge Business School.

Other articles

How Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) can help deliver a successful mental health and wellbeing strategy

November 27th 2024

Employee Resources Groups (ERGs) are great ways of strengthening workplace communities and bringing together the voices of people with shared values to help benefit the wider business.

National Mental Health Awareness Days UK 2025 and 2026

November 13th 2024

Ensure that your organisation is aware of upcoming National Mental Health Awareness Days in 2025 and 2026 with our helpful calendar. Find days to focus your employees on their personal wellbeing, as well as raise awareness of mental health within your workplace.

Back to Articles