Why is it important to have Mental Health First Aiders?
It is a legal requirement to protect your staff against work related stress and support their mental well-being. The  hierarchy of control for physical hazards identifies that the least a workplace can do to protect against remaining risks is provide PPE. Having trained Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace offers a minimum level of protection against remaining risks arising from work related stress in much the same way that we wear a hard hat on a show fit-up to guard against physical injury. The ABTT is offering our Mental Health First Aid training as a way to provide that base line provision – not only around work-related stress, but for mental health and well-being in general.

Why should you take your Mental Health First Aid training with the ABTT?
The ABTT Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training is provided by ABTT Co-Chair and MHFA Trainer Mig Burgess Walsh, who brings her lived experience with bipolar disorder to the training she delivers and shares in a positive way her experience navigating mental health services. Mig uses these attributes to help others learn; to reduce stigma around this topic but most importantly to go on to provide support for others. Well known within our Industry, Mig takes great pride in being able to teach using the fantastic course materials from Mental Health First Aid England in the context of working backstage in theatre and live events and the challenges presented by the unique environment in which we work. She adds “I love being a part of people’s journey towards developing a cultural change in their workplace towards mental health.”

What is Mental Health First Aid?
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an internationally recognised training course which teaches people how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and provide help on a first aid basis. MHFA England training won’t teach you to be a therapist, but just like physical first aid, it will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis. Adult MHFA England courses are for everyone aged 16 upwards. Every MHFA England course is delivered by a quality assured Instructor Member who has attended our Instructor Training programme accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health, and is trained to keep people safe and supported while they learn.

What will I learn?
Learning takes place through a mix of group activities, presentations and discussions.

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

How will attending an MHFA England course help?
– Research and evaluation shows that taking part in an MHFA England course:
– Raises awareness and mental health literacy
– Reduces stigma around mental ill health
– Boosts knowledge and confidence in dealing with mental health issues
– Promotes early intervention which enables recovery

How does this course differ to the old one?
– The latest MHFA Course provides you with more tutor contact hours
– 3 years access to the MHFAider Support App
– Additional support through the MHFAider Resource Library and Toolkit
– 24/7 text support services
– Exclusive quarterly webinars to embed and broaden mental health knowledge

What did previous participants say about attending the course?

Very informative. The lived experience of the instructor and the videos were very impactful and made a big difference in my level of understanding. Thank you.

Just wanted to highlight the amazing job Mig did in making really difficult and challenging topics both accessible and positive, fantastic balance of personal experience combined with course structure. The quantity of case studies/scenarios was fantastic for making the ALGEE action plan feel natural and logical. Thank you for the experience.