08.05.19 - 09.05.19 MHFA England. Mental Health First Aid Course

Date: 8th and 9th May 2019

Time: 9am - 5pm

Venue: RICOH Arena, Judds Ln, Coventry CV6 6GE

Tickets: £300 2 day course / £500 2 day course + 1 night accommodation at Doubletree by Hilton Ricoh Arena *prices applicable to members and non-members*

About this event...

Mental Health First Aid starts with you!

If you are reading this you are already thinking about how to improve the mental health of your organisation.

Work is good for health and health is good for business. Healthy people are happier, more engaged and more productive. We spend over half of our lives at work and it makes sense that the places we work in and the people who work in them are as healthy as they can be.

We all have mental health in the same way that we all have physical health. Mental health issues are common:

60% of UK employees have experienced a mental health issue due to work, or where work was a contributing factor
31% of UK employees have been ‘formally diagnosed’ with a mental health condition

But many of us know little about mental health compared to our physical health. Stigma and lack of awareness can stop people from talking about their mental health, delaying them from getting the support needed for recovery. This silence extends to the workplace. People often avoid disclosing a mental health issue to their employer for fear of being demoted, losing their job, or judged as less capable and missing out on opportunities. These concerns are justified if a Bupa poll is reflective of organisational attitudes to mental ill health: 94% of business leaders admitted to prejudice against people with mental health issues in their organisation.

The costs of ignoring mental health?
Stress, anxiety and depression are the biggest cause of sickness absence in our society, causing 15.8 million days of absence in the UK in 2016 (Office for National Statistics, 2017: Sickness absence in the labour market: 2016).  Mental ill health costs UK employers an estimated £35 billion each year - broken down, that’s £10.6 billion in sickness absence, £21.2 billion in reduced productivity, and £3.1 billion in replacing staff who leave their jobs for mental health-related reasons.

What can you do?
The good news is that simple steps to improve the management of mental health in the workplace, including prevention and early identification of problems, should enable employers to save “30% or more of the costs associated with mental ill health - at least £8 billion a year” (Centre for Mental Health).

Please join us with this 2 day Mental Health First Aid Course organised by The Security Institute in collaboration with MHFA England.

What will I learn? 
Learning takes place through a mix of group activities, presentations and discussions. Mental Health First Aiders: A practical skills and awareness course designed to give you;

• A deeper understanding of mental health and the factors that can affect people’s wellbeing, including your own
• Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental health issues
• Confidence to step in, reassure and support a person in distress
• Enhanced interpersonal skills such as non-judgemental listening
• Knowledge to help someone recover their health by guiding them to appropriate support