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Phil Bridges, CEO of Liverpool-based social enterprise the Mind Map, shares his thoughts on the need for Mental Health First Aid and his experience on the seven day Youth MHFA instructor training course.
Mental Health issues affect millions of us each year, and many of us don’t know where to turn when they strike. We become prisoners of depression, stress and anxiety. You go to parties and fail to have fun, see friends and fail to connect, gain no pleasure from activities you used to love. Overwhelmed, you can feel like you are losing yourself.
In March this year I launched social enterprise the Mind Map, with three main aims: to de-stigmatise mental health, to provide wellbeing resources and to signpost young people towards the free mental health services in their area.
So far on our website, we have brought together a disparate group of bands, sports stars and writers to discuss how they stay mentally well. From number one selling indie bands such as Blossoms, to LGBT activist Will Young and Paralympic skier Millie Knight, we are keen to add to the positive media mental health conversations from the likes of Natasha Devon, Bryony Gordon, Russell Brand, Ruby Wax and George Ezra. I like to think of The Mind Map as an online wellbeing resource we’d have given to our younger selves.
In addition to normalising mental health via our online content, we are incorporating Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) into our work. I remember first encountering the notion of MHFA and thinking; “How is this not compulsory in education and the workplace?”
Physical First Aid at work is ubiquitous, with employers legally obliged to ‘provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work,’ but this doesn’t yet include mental health (although a new petition launched this week is trying to change this).With that in mind we wish to contribute to MHFA England's agenda to train one in 10 people in Mental Health First Aid skills.
But first, we need to qualify.
Because The Mind Map being aimed at those aged 16-34 and beyond, we decided to initially enrol for the seven-day Youth MHFA instructor training course, meaning we will be qualified to deliver MHFA to those working with 8-18 year olds.
My course began last month and the 7.34am train from Liverpool to Manchester has certainly been a godsend - delivering me into Oxford Road in good time, with just a ten-minute stroll to the hotel where the course is being held. Reflecting on my first five days, highlights have included Satveer Nijjar’s self harm workshop and being guided through my first presentation by my supportive peers and course leaders Belinda and Lisa.
I found Satveer’s talk - punctuated with invaluable personal insights - particularly illuminating. She shared with us the circumstances which led her towards self harming, and her inspiring recovery. When Satveer advises you what not to say to someone who is self harming, you listen intently, knowing this is information from an expert source. Satveer tactfully made this sensitive topic engaging, sad, funny, entertaining and above all empowering, all in the space of 30 minutes. Having completed this part of the training, I came away with an in depth understanding of self-harm, intervention and the language surrounding it.
Day four was spent listening and feeding back to some impressive talks by my peers. Come day five and it was my turn. I’d been tasked with presenting for 25 minutes around drug and alcohol misuse in young people, and decided to explore signs and symptoms, causes and interventions. The talk went well and I received some positive feedback from my mentor and peers. Overall, the exercise taught me some valuable preparation and presentation skills I didn’t know I possessed!
I’m now looking forward to developing these skills further and am already feeling confident about my potential to deliver MHFA training.
To find out how you can train as an MHFA instructor visit: mhfaengland.org/instructors
Find out more about The Mind Map at: www.themindmap.co.uk or on twitter @themindmapmag