Mental Health First Aid instructor Temo Donovan blogs for us on using and teaching Mental Health First Aid skills.
My first understanding of the health divide between mental health and physical health was when I worked in cardiac services, learning that depression is often a common factor for people with a long-term condition. In 2002 when my husband suffered a heart attack and a complete blockage to his left carotid artery, his life changed drastically and so did his mental health. He gave up work because of his health and became a house husband to look after our three children.
Although he had support for his physical health he had very little support for his mental health, and as a result suffered from depression.
Working in the NHS has provided me a good understanding of what’s available and I managed to get my husband some support through counselling. In 2008 my husband had another set-back and was diagnosed with prostate cancer, although it was a shock, our previous experience allowed me to be more assertive in getting help and also recognising signs and symptoms of depression. Again I had to seek out the counselling but I included myself so that we could tackle the issues that faced us together.
It’s an on-going struggle and although you know it happens to other people, there is still an overwhelming feeling of being alone.
When I moved over to NHS England in 2013 and started to work for the mental health strategic clinical network my perspective shifted. Working on projects and attending conferences related to mental health helped me to gain further understanding and because of what I experienced with my husband I started to feel very passionate about mental health. When NHS England offered staff training to become Mental Health First Aiders I quickly replied and qualified in early 2014.
The training provided me with a greater understanding of mental health illnesses as well as mental health in general and the tools and knowledge to support and guide someone who may be suffering from a mental health problem.
This helped me at home with my family and I started to talk more about mental health in general to my friends and colleagues at work, in fact anyone who would listen! I felt good about spreading the knowledge that I had gained.
Whilst on holiday in August 2014, I experienced using my Mental Health First Aid skills properly for the first time. We met a lovely family at the resort who we got on well with and one day the mother broke down in tears in front of my husband, his first thought was to run and get me and when we met up again I asked her how she was doing and again she broke down in tears. After listening to her story and offering her reassurance about how she was feeling, I was able to offer her guidance on where to get help suggesting that she should visit her GP who would refer her to her local IAPT (improving access to psychological therapies). A couple of months after I got back from holiday I contacted the mother and found out she had gone to her GP and had been to her local IAPT and was receiving treatment not just for herself but also her family, which helped them understand what she was going through and how they could support each other.
In March 2015 I became a Mental Health First Aid instructor and so far I have taught nearly 100 people to become Mental Health First Aider including many of my work colleagues. I find it very rewarding teaching Mental Health First Aid and would certainly encourage as many people as possible to sign up to become a Mental Health First Aider
We should all be encouraging good mental health and well-being with our friends and family and in the workplace, helping to eradicate stigma and discrimination.
If there is one thing I have gained from my experience working within this field is that everyone has mental health.
Temo has worked in the NHS for nearly 25 years, starting off as a secretary at the Royal Brompton Hospital working for the Surgical Directorate and then as Office Manager for the Business Development Department facilitating single projects such as the Brompton Paediatric Inquiry and the development of a patient advisory task-group to establish a patients forum. In 2003 Temo completed a Masters in organisation and social change which led her to work as a project manager with the North West London CHD Collaborative (which later became the cardiac and stroke network). In April 2013 she transferred over to NHS England to work for the strategic clinical network working on a variety of different projects within mental health and now also works in collaboration with the Healthy London Partnership to deliver the transformation programme at all stages of the pathway (prevention, treatment and recovery) and at all levels of the health and care system.
This blog post was originally published here and has been re-posted with the author's permission.