Armed Forces 2 Day Mental Health First Aid Training

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This is a specialist two day course which is designed for people who have served in the armed forces, or have a very close connection with the armed forces community such as close family members, carers, and those working or volunteering to support our armed forces veterans. We are working closely with Armed Forces Charities and other organisations to deliver bespoke courses for them.

The course qualifies you as an Armed Forces Mental Health First Aider, giving you:

• An in-depth understanding of mental health and the factors that affect well-being for the armed forces community.
• 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 further support - whether that’s self-help resources, through the MOD, the NHS, support charities, or a mix.

Places on the course are restricted to serving and ex-serving personnel, their family members, and support services who work with the armed forces community.
 

The cost for our open access courses is £220 +VAT per person and includes all learner materials, tea/coffee, and lunches. We do work with charities to deliver courses in-house or funded courses so please get in touch via mentalhealth@mhfa999.co.uk if your organisation would like to work with us.
 

Format:

• Two day face to face course across four manageable sessions.
• Learning takes place through a mix of presentations, group discussions and workshop activities.
• Each session is built around a Mental Health First Aid action plan.
• We limit numbers to 16 people per course so that the instructor can keep people safe and supported while they learn.

Everyone who completes the course receives:

• A certificate to say you are an Armed Forces Mental Health First Aider.
• An Armed Forces MHFA manual to keep and refer to whenever you need it.

This excellent 2 day training course is divided into 4 sessions:
Day 1 morning:

• Why MHFA for the armed forces community?
• Military culture.
• What is mental health?
• Stigma and discrimination.
• Mental health issues - violence and the criminal justice system.
• The five steps of Mental Health First Aid.

Day 1 afternoon:

• Suicide.
• Non-judgemental listening skills.
• Crisis first aid for suicidal behaviour.
• First aid for depression.
• Signs and symptoms of depression.
• Actions for suicidal behaviour and depression.
• Treatment and resources for depression.
• Self-care.
• Vicarious trauma and burnout.

Day 2 morning:

• Self-harm.
• Eating disorders.
• Treatment and resources for self-harm and eating disorders.
• What is psychosis?
• Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder.
• Symptoms and risk factors for psychosis.
• Crisis first aid for acute psychosis.
• Treatment and resources for psychosis.

Day 2 afternoon:

• What is anxiety?
• When is anxiety a problem?
• Signs and symptoms of anxiety.
• Alcohol, drugs and anxiety disorders.
• The impact of trauma.
• Post traumatic stress disorder.
• Crisis first aid for panic attacks.
• Crisis first aid for acute stress reaction. 
• Recovery.
• Action planning for using MHFA.