Would you know how to help?
We’re aware of the challenges a university environment can bring to staff and student mental health alike. Moving away from support networks for the first time, academic pressure, financial worries, rising debt and the uncertainty of the graduate job market can all trigger mental ill health or worsen existing mental health issues in students. Long working hours, a culture of overwork, isolation, and increasing pressures from league tables means that stress and burnout is common from PhD students to vice-chancellors.
78% of students reported experiencing mental health issues in a given year – but less than half had sought support
66% of academics with mental health issues say their ill health is directly related to work
Training for a healthy university
Our Higher Education Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses are for everyone who works or studies in a university environment. You will gain the skills and confidence to spot the signs of mental health issues, offer first aid and guide someone towards the support they need. In doing so, you can speed up recovery and stop a mental health issue from getting worse.
Our courses won’t teach you to be a therapist, but we will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis - and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.
But more than that, our courses aim to give you the information and skills to look after your own mental health, promote positive wellbeing and raise awareness in the people around you. By giving you the tools to have these conversations, we hope to empower you to create a mentally healthy, supportive environment in your university.
Let’s create a future where we all know how to look after our own mental wellbeing, so preventable issues don’t arise in the first place. A future where everyone has access to support if they need it.
Higher Education MHFA CHAMPION (1 Day COURSE)
Our intensive Higher Education mental health awareness and skills course was created in consultation with leading student mental health charity Student Minds. It was piloted in 16 universities and evaluated by the University of Chester.
This one day course qualifies people as Higher Education MHFA Champions, giving them:
A deeper understanding of the issues that relate to student and staff mental health
Skills to spot early signs of mental ill health
Confidence to signpost someone to support – whether that’s through self-help resources, university counselling services, the NHS, or a mix
Knowledge and confidence to advocate for mental health awareness
Format
One day face to face course
Learning takes place through a mix of presentations, group discussions and workshop activities
We limit numbers to 16 people per course so that the instructor can keep people safe and supported while they learn
Takeaways
Everyone who completes the course gets:
A certificate of attendance to say they are a Higher Education MHFA Champion
A Higher Education MHFA manual to refer to whenever they need it
A workbook including a helpful toolkit to support their own mental health