Our 2 Day Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training Course builds mental health awareness and support skills, certifying participants as mental health first aiders.

To book this MHFA course, please call 0121 271 0550, email info@altruistuk.com or contact us here. Download our MHFA poster to help advertise you Mental Health First Aiders.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a 2 day in-depth mental health awareness course, approved by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). On completion of this training, candidates are certified as ‘Mental Health First Aiders' (MHFAiders®).

The course has recently been revised and enhanced, ensuring that participants receive the most up-to-date and comprehensive mental health training on the market. MHFAiders® will also now receive ongoing support for two years after their certification.

MHFAiders® play a key role in supporting employees, helping to raise awareness of mental health issues, support colleagues and improve overall wellbeing in the workplace.

MHFAiders® will gain the skills and knowledge to recognise signs of colleagues suffering from poor mental health. They’ll learn how to start conversations about mental health confidently and signpost colleagues to appropriate support.

You can also try our free 2-minute Mental Health Workplace Audit to assess your current wellbeing provision.

Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAiders®) support your employee wellbeing strategy

A strong action point for your employee wellbeing strategy will be to have certified Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAiders®) within your organisation. It is especially important to look after your employees’ mental health during the cost-of-living crisis, as many may face economic uncertainty and their financial wellbeing could suffer.

Having certified Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAiders®) demonstrates that you’re serious about protecting your employees’ mental health and wellbeing. The training will help to create a workplace culture that’s proactive in addressing mental health issues during this difficult time.

Mental health awareness is an integral to a productive workplace - a mentally healthy business can ensure employees are happier and more engaged at work. Stress, anxiety and depression are also the biggest cause of sickness absence in our society. Mental ill-health is responsible for 91 million working days lost every year, so effective mental health first aid training can help reduce both presenteeism and absenteeism.

Our MHFA training course is designed to help minimise the impact of mental ill-health in the workplace, giving you the tools to support all employees’ mental health and wellbeing.

Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAider®) get access to two years of support and benefits

Alongside the best evidence-based Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, MHFAiders® are also provided with two-year access to ongoing learning and support through the MHFAider Support App®.

The app gives you 24/7 digital support, access to exclusive resources, ongoing learning opportunities, and the benefit of joining England’s largest community of trained MHFAiders®.

Mental Health First Aiders will be able to:

• Recognise colleagues that may be suffering from poor mental health and assist them with first-level support and early intervention
• Encourage colleagues to access established sources of professional help as well as other supports (e.g. their Employee Assistance (EAP) programme, self-help resources or the NHS)
• Practise empathy and active listening
• Have conversations with improved mental health literacy around language and stigma
• Use practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental health issues
• Discuss the MHFAider® role in depth, including confidentiality and boundaries
• Practise self-care to look after their own mental health and wellbeing
• Use all of the tools within the MHFAider Support App®
• Access the dedicated text service provided and ongoing learning opportunities

What to expect from MHFA training:

• Learning takes place through a mix of presentations, group discussions and workshop activities
• Course is built around ALGEE - Mental Health First Aid Action Plan
• Numbers are limited to 16 people per course

What are the benefits of MHFA?

• Reduces stigma associated with poor mental health
• Boosts colleagues’ confidence to have supportive conversations on mental health
• Encourages equity and understanding around mental health and wellbeing from different perspectives
• Helps to build a workplace culture that’s supportive and promotes open conversations about mental health
• Encourages self-care, giving MHFAiders® the tools to look after their own and others’ mental health and wellbeing
• Champions early intervention and recovery, which can help prevent a person's mental health from deteriorating

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course outline:

MHFA is split into four three-hour sessions delivered over two days.

Session One (Day One)

1. Mental Health First Aid
2. The MHFAider® role
3. Self-care
4. Activity 1: Self-care bingo
5. Introduction to ALGEE
6. What is mental health?
7. Activity 2: Helpful and unhelpful language
8. Frame of Reference
9. Activity 3: Window on the world
10. Activity 4: Frame of Reference
11. The Stress Container
12. Activity 5: Found objects
13. Activity 6: What’s in my Stress Container?
14. Film and group discussion – MHFA conversation 1
15. Quiz

Session Two (Day One)

1. What influences mental health?
2. Activity 7: Inequalities in mental health
3. The mental health continuum
4. Activity 8: Mental health continuum case studies
5. What is anxiety?
6. Activity 9: Signs and symptoms of anxiety
7. Crisis first aid for panic attacks
8. Film and discussion – MHFA conversation 2
9. Crisis first aid after a traumatic event
10. Active listening and empathy
11. Activity 10: Demonstrate helpful and unhelpful listening actions
12. What are eating disorders?
13. What is self-harm?
14. Crisis first aid for self-harm
15. What is substance misuse?
16. MHFA conversation practice
17. Quiz

Session Three (Day Two)

1. Applying ALGEE to case studies
2. What is depression?
3. Activity 11: Design a T-shirt
4. What is suicide?
5. Crisis first aid for suicide
6. What is psychosis?
7. Film and discussion – MHFA conversation 3
8. First aid for psychosis
9. MHFA conversation practice
10. Quiz

Session Four (Day Two)

1. Recovery and lived experience
2. Applying ALGEE to case studies
3. Film and discussion – MHFA conversation 4
4. Boundaries in the MHFAider® role
5. Activity 12: case studies
6. Quiz
7. MHFA conversation practice
8. Moving forward in the MHFAider® role
9. My MHFA action plan

Everyone who completes the 2 Day Mental Health First Aid course will receive:

• A digital certificate to say they are a Mental Health First Aider (MHFAider®)
• A digital MHFA manual to refer to whenever they need it
• A hardcopy MHFA workbook
• Access to the MHFAider® support package for two years, including the MHFAider Support App®, exclusive content
• An MHFAider® lanyard and ALGEE action card

What is the MHFAider Support App®?

The MHFAider Support App® gives participants access to a range of helpful features:

• Resource library: toolkits, guidance, animations, and information on core mental health concepts.
• Signposting database: using Hub of Hope you can find local and national mental health services for additional support, including the most relevant organisations and services to direct your colleagues to.
• Secure conversation logging: MHFAiders® can make confidential notes to record and reflect.
• Wellbeing check-in reminders: helpful reminders for when to check in with your colleagues.
• 24/7 text support service: MHFAiders® can access 24/7 text support service through Shout. This provides advice and reassurance on mental health discussions and supports MHFAiders® wellbeing following a difficult conversation.

A recent study based on our own feedback from course delegates following MHFA training found:

• 100 % of respondents rated this course as either good or very good
• 94% average increase in knowledge and understanding of how best to support others*
• 74% average increase in personal confidence of how best to support others*

MHFA Training Course Feedback

'The course was delivered at a nice informal pace. There was enough time for questions and discussion and the trainer made herself available for private questions too. I would recommend this course to anyone.' Catherine Ince, Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor, West Midlands Fire Service, Birmingham

Mental Health First Aid Training Course Cost

MHFA training course costs vary depending on the number of delegates. Prices for our MHFA course start from £245 + VAT per delegate (8 - 16 delegates).

Public courses are priced at £300 + VAT per delegate (Midlands) and £325 + VAT per delegate (London).

Course Location:

We are based in Birmingham but are experienced in providing face-to-face training throughout the UK, depending on your organisation’s requirements. We also run Online Mental Health First Aid Training.

How to book:

To book this 2 Day Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training Course, please call 0121 271 0550, email info@altruistuk.com or contact us here.

*114 delegates were asked to rate their ability in supporting others on a scale of 0-10 before and after the course (0 – lowest, 10 – highest).

We also provide a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Half Day course and a Mental Health First Aider Refresher course.

If you are local to Birmingham, we are happy to discuss meeting in person to chat about your requirements.