Mental health first aid England logo
"Very often there's no help available until a problem has become totally unmanageable". Quote from young person

AYPH is pleased to offer the Mental Health First aid course for those working with young people. Training is delivered by our education lead Esta Orchard who is also a National Trainer for MHFA England

Learn to support young people

Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA®) courses are for everyone who works with, lives with or supports young people aged 8-18. This course will teach you the skills and confidence to spot the signs of mental health issues in a young person, offer first aid and guide them towards the support they need. In doing so, you can speed up a young person’s recovery and stop a mental health issue from getting worse.

This course 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, we aim to give you the information and skills to look after your own mental health so that you can set an example for young people. By giving you the tools to have these conversations, we hope to empower you to create a mentally healthy, supportive environment in your family, school, peer group or community.

The MHFA course trains you as a Youth Mental Health First Aider (MHFAider®), giving you:

  • An in-depth understanding of young people’s mental health and factors that affect wellbeing
  • Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental health issues
  • Confidence to reassure and support a young person in distress
  • Enhanced interpersonal skills such as non-judgemental listening
  • Knowledge to help a young person recover their health by guiding them to further support – whether that’s through self-help sites, their place of learning, the NHS, or a mix – engaging with parents, carers and external agencies where appropriate
  • Ability to support a young person with a long term mental health issue or disability to thrive
  • Tools to look after your own mental wellbeing ​

More information about course content can be found at Mental Health First Aid England.

Format

  • The online course is delivered through the MHFA England Online Learning Hub. Learning takes place through four live online training sessions spread across one to two weeks, with self-learning activities in between. Training sessions will take place from 10am to 1pm. Please allow a 1 – 1.5 hours for self-learning in between each live session

Takeaways

Everyone who completes the course gets:

  • A certificate of attendance to say you are a Youth MHFAider®
  • A Youth MHFAider® manual to refer to whenever you need it
  • A workbook including some helpful tools to support your own mental health

Cost

The Youth Mental Health First Aid course costs £300. Discounts are available for AYPH members.

How do I book?

Click here to take you to the booking page on the MHFA website for the online course.

Once you are registered on the course – AYPH will contact you to arrange payment. Then your place will be confirmed.