The Importance of Mental Health First Aiders: An Interview with MHFA England

myGwork spoke to Zoe Puckering, the Client Delivery team Lead at MHFA England about their vital work and why every organization should invest in mental health first aiders.

Can you tell us more about MHFA England?

MHFA England is a Community Interest Company with a mission to train 1 in 10 people in England in Mental Health Awareness and/or Skills.

We offer mental health training and consultancy to workplaces. Our training includes a whole range of depth and focus, from Awareness courses to Mental Health First Aid courses, to mental health training specific for HR professionals and focused courses for Managers.

What does it take to become a mental health first aider?

First things first you need to be a volunteer. Being a Mental Health First Aider is about fulfilling a peer-to-peer support role not just attending training. Within the Mental Health First Aid courses, you will increase your mental health awareness, learn how to have a supportive conversation and signpost someone.

Who is well suited to this training?

Volunteers. It’s great to have a varied group of Mental Health First Aiders. All should be volunteers but outside of that as much mix as possible makes peer to peer support possible. For example, it’s unlikely that a Junior employee will open up to a Manager and vice versa …so to overcome this extra barrier having a mixture of levels within your volunteer population opens up the support.

Why are mental health first aiders important in the workplace?

We spend most of our week at work. We all have mental health whether we are thriving or just about surviving … and we know that how we feel impacts how we work. So, for workplaces having Mental Health First Aiders is an opportunity to show employees they care and are actively offer early-stage intervention which is accessible, confidential and peer lead.

What is an example of a scenario mental health first aider may be needed?

Mental Health First Aiders don’t just speak to peers who know they have a mental illness … they often spend a lot of time supporting people who are struggling with day-to-day life whether that’s connected to stress management, going through a breakup, being part of a restructure at work or sadly have experienced a bereavement.

What advice would you give someone that is struggling to ask for help?

Personally, I would acknowledge that stigma does make it hard to ask for help, but I would reassure them that asking for help is a courageous thing to do and they should be proud of themselves for getting to the point they have self-identified they need help and now they can progress onto receiving that help.

How do mental health and wellbeing connect to the fight for LGBTQI+ equality?

The very well-known stat of 1 in 4 people struggle with their mental health is, unfortunately, more like 2 in 4 within the LGBTQI+ community. Therefore, increasing mental health awareness, building supportive cultures, creating an environment where employees can “bring their whole self to work” will not only aid employee wellbeing. It will also support the LGBTQI+ community.

We’ve seen conversations around mental health change and improve over the past few years – what would you like to see next to take this even further?

Consistency … we are talking about cultural change and we have seen lots more talk and activity about mental health which is fantastic. But real long-term change will come from consistency, not a tick box activity.

How can people and organisations support your work?

If you are in a workplace, you can contact us at [email protected] and chat with us about your mental health and wellbeing plans. If you are an employee, you can encourage your workplace to look into mental health training and if they already are maybe you can volunteer to become a Mental Health First Aider.