Youth Mental Health First Aid course
2 days

Would you know how to help?

Event details

  • 19 June 2023 - 26 June 2023

    09:00-16:30 (GMT)

    Online

Dates: Monday 19th June 2023 & Monday 26th June 2023*

Time: 09:00 – 16:30

Delivery: Online

* You must be able to attend both dates

One in ten young people experience a mental health issue at any one time. Suicide is the leading cause of death for those ages 5-19.

In an average group of 30 15-year-olds:

• Seven are likely to have been bullied
• Six may be self-harming
• One could have experienced the death of a parent

Record levels of young people are struggling. Academic pressure, social media, bullying, poverty, lack of availability of professional mental health support – all have been named by various sources as contributing to this epidemic of poor mental health in our young people.

It’s clear that young people are not able to access the support they need as early as possible. Key figures in a young person’s life – parents, family members, teachers, tutors, carers, youth workers – can often spot when a young person is struggling but may not know how best to help.

Learn to support young people

Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses are for everyone who works with, lives with or supports young people aged 8-18. You will be taught skills and gain confidence in spotting the signs of mental health issues in a young person, offer first aid and guide them towards the support they need. In doing so, you can speed up a young person’s recovery and stop a mental health issue from getting worse.

The course won't teach you to be a therapist, but will develop the skills of individuals to confidently listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis – and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.

But more than that, the course aims to give you the information and skills to look after your own mental health so that you can set an example for young people. By giving you the tools to have these conversations, the course should empower you to create a mentally healthy, supportive environment in your family, school, peer group or community.

Outline of the course

This online course trains you as a Youth Mental Health First Aider, giving you:

  • An in-depth understanding of young people’s mental health and factors that affect wellbeing
  • Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental health issues 
  • Confidence to reassure and support a young person in distress
  • Enhanced interpersonal skills such as non-judgemental listening 
  • Knowledge to help a young person recover their health by guiding them to further support – whether that’s through self-help sites, their place of learning, the NHS, or a mix – engaging with parents, carers and external agencies where appropriate
  • Ability to support a young person with a long term mental health issue or disability to thrive
  • Tools to look after your own mental wellbeing ​

Takeaways

Everyone who completes the course gets:

  • A certificate of attendance to say you are a Youth Mental Health First Aider
  • A Youth MHFA manual to refer to whenever you need it
  • A workbook including some helpful tools to support your own mental health
To attend:

If you would like to attend this training please email us at outreach@uca.ac.uk. You must detail your name, job title and the school you work at. You must be able to attend both dates.

UCA processes data in accordance with the General Data Protection Rules (GDPR). The university's data protection policies and privacy notices can be viewed here.

Refer to the Outreach & Widening Participation Privacy Notice

You have the right to review information held about you. If you would like to do so or to notify us of a change of your details, please email outreach@uca.ac.uk. If, you believe there is no legitimate reason for us to continue processing your data and wish us to delete it, please contact the Data Protection Officer dpo@uca.ac.uk