The Youth MHFA course
"The 2 day course completely changed my thoughts and the way I speak with young people I come into contact with. I see beyond what we " think" we see'."
"One of the best courses I have done".
Youth MHFA is an internationally recognised training programme designed specifically for those people that teach, work, live with or care for young people aged 11 - 18. The Youth MHFA course in England was adapted for use in England, with permission, from the original course in Australia.
The training provides information, tools and techniques to promote a young person's mental and emotional wellbeing and to enable participants to support a young person who might be experiencing mental and emotional distress.
The Youth MHFA course will teach you how to:
• Spot the early signs of a mental health problem in young people
• Feel confident helping a young person experiencing a problem
• Provide help on a first aid basis
• Help protect a young person who might be at risk of harm
• Help prevent a mental health illness from getting worse
• Help a young person recover faster
• Guide a young person towards the right support
• Reduce the stigma of mental health problems
The Youth MHFA course is accredited by the Open College Network (3 credits at Level 3 on completion of a workbook).
Please click the following link for a wonderful story written by a young person about their encounter with mental ill health and what they did to help. Every Day by Madi Gianfrancesco
Why is it important?
• 1 in 10 young people experience emotional and mental health problems
• By the time young people become adults the incidence of mental health problems rises to somewhere between 1 in 4 and 1 in 6 people
• For those aged 15-24 suicide is the second most common cause of death
• There is evidence to suggest early intervention is hugely beneficial
Key areas covered within the course include:
• Promoting emotional, mental, social and psychological well-being
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Eating Disorders
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Self Harm
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Diversity and equality issues
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Substance/Alcohol misuse
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Suicide
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Child, adolescent and family psychosocial development
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Depression/Anxiety/Psychosis
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Bullying/Cyber bullying
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Promoting protective factors and good parenting
Please click here (pdf) here for details of what is covered in the Youth MHFA course.
The course has a deliberate fit with national policy and aims to promote the common assessment framework (CAF), Healthy Schools and Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TaMHS). It also has a particular focus on vulnerable groups of young people including looked after children (LAC). The course can be delivered as either two whole days, four half days or as short modular 1-2 hour training sessions.
How it differs from adult MHFA?
It focuses on both the emotional and well being needs of young people rather than just their mental health issues.
It puts what young people want and need at the heart of the training and focuses on promoting their emotional well being and the factors that help safeguard and protect them.
It aims to underpin national young people's policy and specifically focuses on some of the key indicators outlined in the 2004 document Every Child Matters:
- Be healthy
- Stay safe
- Enjoy and achieve
- Make a positive contribution
- Achieve economic well being
It also reinforces and promotes the use of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) - a universal document that is a 'wrap around the child' document for professional and voluntary agencies working with children to use that ensures a comprehensive and regularly reviewed programme of support and care.
It aims to support teachers and their support staff and has a natural fit with the Targeted Mental Health in Schools agenda.
Youth MHFA also differs in that it has the flexibility to enable participants to build profiles of young people that represent their many different and diverse communities to ensure that learning and action planning is meaningful.
In terms of content, we have been steered by our wide representative consultation group and include cyber bullying, abuse, eating disorders, self harm and substance misuse as core subjects for discussion and learning.
Booking onto the course:
If you are interested in finding out about Youth MHFA courses delivered in your area by our trained instructors please click here. (Recommended prices for the courses are £175- £275 outside London / £200 - £300 inside London per person for the whole course. This includes a manual and certificate of attendence.)
The Youth MHFA course can be delivered to a minimum of 8 and maximum number of 16 participants.
If you are interested in finding out about attending our Youth MHFA instructor training programmes please click here.
