The last two months have been a fantastic step forward in improving awareness and education for mental illness and mental well-being. 
October and November featured Mental Illness Awareness Week, Anti-Bullying Week, Stress Awareness Day and a £2 billion increase for mental health services in this year’s budget. The latest boost for mental health awareness in the UK comes from the newly updated HSE guidelines. These new guidelines feature advice on mental health first aid for the first time ever. Sometimes forgotten due to the popularity of physical first aid, mental first aid is essential for those who suffer with psychological disorders.
Somebody in the office may be experiencing a panic attack, or an episode of psychosis, and the HSE has now recognised how essential it is to have staff educated and ready to react to physical and mental situations in the workplace.
The HSE have this to say about the recent changes: “You should consider ways to manage mental ill health in your workplace which are appropriate for your business, such as providing information or training for managers and employees, employing occupational health professionals, appointing mental health trained first aiders and implementing employee support programmes.”
“First aid training courses covering mental health teach delegates how to recognise warning signs of mental ill health and help them to develop the skills and confidence to approach and support someone, while keeping themselves safe.”
“Following your employers’ first aid needs assessment; you might decide that it will be beneficial to have personnel trained to identify and understand symptoms and able to support someone who might be experiencing a mental health issue.”
ELAS offers an extensive and informative training course to highlight and support mental well-being in the workplace.
The mental health of an employee is just as important as their physical health. This mental health awareness training course, from the ELAS Group, has been specifically designed to help all delegates spot the early signs of mental health issues, fully educate delegates on how they should appropriately approach mental health as well as providing delegates with the tools needed to offer practical support to those suffering with a mental health issue. What’s more delegates will gain the skills needed to become a mental health first aider.
