Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is the mental health equivalent of physical first aid.

MHFA England training provides participants with the skills and confidence to recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues and effectively guide a person towards the right support.

MHFA England’s mission is to help people develop the skills to look after their own and others' wellbeing and reduce the stigma associated with mental ill health.

MHFA is an internationally recognised course, taught in 25 countries around the world. There are now over 2.6 million people trained in MHFA skills worldwide.

At any one time one worker in six will be experiencing depression, anxiety or issues relating to stress (Centre for Mental Health, 2010).

Mental ill health costs UK employers £34.9 billion each year - the equivalent of £1,300 for every employee in the UK workforce. This figure consists of £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 (Centre for Mental Health, 2017).

Stress, anxiety and depression are the biggest cause of sickness absence in our society. Work-related stress alone accounted for 45% of all working days lost to ill health in 2015/16 (Health and Safety Executive, 2017).

Nakita Gilbert (Founder of Five Ways Consultancy) is an accredited Instructor Member, approved by MHFA England to deliver Adult MHFA courses. Five Ways is therefore currently able to offer the following courses:

- Adult MHFA 2-day course
- Adult MHFA 2-day course online

Upon completion of either of these courses, attendees become fully trained mental health first aiders.