Overview

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 trains 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
     

Cost

We value this course at £200 per person. Costs may vary depending on location and instructor.
 

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

Higher Education MHFA workbook, manual and instructor kit

Contact us

Get in touch with our team to discuss your organisation's requirements.

Email the team 
Or call us on 0203 928 0760, option 1.

If you're looking to book a small number of individual places on a course, you may want to book directly with one of our independent Instructor Members, using the 'Book a course' section at the bottom of this page
 

Accessibility

We strive to create courses and resources that everyone can access. When you book training through MHFA England, please specify if you will need course materials in accessible formats.

Visit our accessibility page for more information.

“We introduced the MHFA training to raise awareness. It was about educating, reducing stigma, but also to support the staff in supporting students.”

Course structure

  • Mental Health First Aid
  • What is mental health?
  • Impact of mental health issues
  • Stigma and discrimination
  • What is depression?
  • What is an anxiety disorder?
  • Alcohol, drugs and mental health
  • First aid for depression and anxiety
  • Cognitive distortions and CBT
  • Suicide figures and risk factors
  • First aid for suicidal crisis
  • Self-harm
  • First aid for self-harm
  • Eating disorders
  • First aid for eating disorders
  • Psychosis
  • First aid for psychosis
  • Recovery
  • Building a mentally healthy higher education community

Book a course