Learner FAQs

With Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England training, learners will be accessing the very best evidence based MHFA course available.  

Our training is grounded in research. It has been developed through an inclusive lens, with input from people with lived experience and in collaboration with clinical practitioners, learners, and workplaces. It is proven to increase MHFAiders® confidence in supporting people with mental ill health. 

With our new offer, training doesn't stop when the course comes to an end. We provide continuous support for MHFAiders® – well beyond initial certification – so you are confident, empowered, and motivated to carry out your role. 

As an MHFAider® you get automatic 24/7 digital support through the MHFAider Support App®. From there you will find exclusive resources, ongoing learning opportunities and the benefit of joining England’s largest community of trained MHFAiders®. 

After completing the course, you will be able to: 

- Recognise those that may be experiencing poor mental health and provide them with first-level support and early intervention 
- Encourage a person to identify and access sources of professional help and other supports​ 
- Practise active listening and empathy 
- Have a conversation with improved mental health literacy around language and stigma 
- Discuss the role of the MHFAider® in depth, including boundaries and confidentiality​ 
- Practise self-care​ 
- Know how to use the MHFAider Support App® including how to access a dedicated text service provided by Shout and ongoing learning opportunities with MHFA England  

Our insight has shown us that learners wanted more support once they completed the course, to help 'take the stabilisers off', and increase their confidence and knowledge. 

This is why we have developed a package of support that includes access to the MHFAider Support App®, exclusive resources and ongoing learning opportunities. These benefits and being part of England’s largest community of MHFAiders® will help you to carry out your role confidently and effectively.  

MHFAiders® will receive emails every month for three years pointing you to additional learning and online events. This content will typically sit on the MHFAider Support App®, but it may also sit on MHFA England’s Online Learning Hub. The location of any new content will be made clear in the email. Typical support tools will range from guides and films to top tips and webinars.  

Through the app, you will have access to a dedicated 24/7 text service provided by Shout. This will provide advice and reassurance on a Mental Health First Aid conversation and support your wellbeing after a difficult conversation.  

MHFA England remains a training organisation rather than a talking service or 24-hour support. Our service does not include ad-hoc or on-demand phone or email support in how to have conversations or deal with an MHFA intervention.  

The app was developed in response to feedback that learners would like more guidance and support once they have completed the course. We believe its features and benefits will give MHFAiders® the support they need to carry out their role effectively. 

It gives you access to a resource library of toolkits, guidance, animations, and core mental health concepts. There is also a signposting database through Hub of Hope to find local and national mental health services for additional support, allowing you to find the most relevant and up-to-date organisations and services to signpost people to. 

Secure conversation logging allows you to make notes to record and reflect, while protecting the confidentiality of those you are supporting. There are also reminders for wellbeing check-ins. 

Vitally, MHFAiders® will now be able to access a 24/7 text support service through Shout. This will provide advice and reassurance on a Mental Health First Aid conversation and support your wellbeing after a difficult conversation. 

MHFA England’s MHFA course is ideal for people at every level who would like to become an MHFAider®. Learners will gain the knowledge and skills to spot signs of a person experiencing poor mental health, be confident to start a conversation, and signpost a person to appropriate support​. 

MHFA England’s Mental Health First Aid course:

- Reduces stigma around mental health issues
- Builds supportive communities and workplace cultures where employees feel they can be open about their mental health
- Encourages self-care, giving people the tools to look after their own and others mental health​
- Promotes early intervention and recovery, which can prevent an individual's mental health deteriorating
- Gives learners increased confidence to have a supportive conversation about mental health
- Promotes equity and understanding around mental health from different perspectives/lived experiences.

You will receive a learner bundle that includes: 

- A hardcopy workbook
- A digital MHFA manual 
- Access to the MHFAider® support package for three years including:  - An MHFAider® lanyard and ALGEE action card 

The course is structured as four sessions for both online and face to face delivery. These can either be delivered over two or four days. We recommend that online delivery is done over four days, and that all four sessions are delivered within a two-week period.

- Session One: 3 hours, 30 minutes 
- Session Two: 3 hours, 45 minutes
- Session Three: 3 hours, 45 minutes
- Session Four: 3 hours 

Each session will include a short break. 

We recommend that the course is delivered to a group of between 8-16 people.

Key safety features of the course that support the learner include: 

- A group learning agreement
- Clear opt-out guidance if you are not comfortable taking part in a particular activity
- Guidance for how you can ask the Instructor Member for help 

In addition, we recommend that your Instructor Member encourages you to identify a support person prior to attending the course, if you need it.  

Once you have applied to attend a course, you will receive confirmation from your Instructor Member that you have been accepted onto the course. 

If you booked through an Instructor Member directly you will receive two sets of joining instructions: 

- The first set will come from your Instructor Member. It will provide you with details on how to join MHFA England’s Online Learning Hub and access materials, the virtual classroom (if you are attending an online course), and any course-specific information the Instructor Member needs to communicate 
- The second set of joining instructions will come from MHFA England, seven days before your course starts. It will provide details on how to download and log in to the MHFAider Support App® and give an overview of the additional support you will receive for three years after you complete the course 

If you have booked directly through an Instructor Member, you may also receive additional communications from them. 

If you booked through the MHFA England workplace team, you will get one set of joining instructions: 
- These will come from the Associate who is delivering your course. They will include details on how to join MHFA England’s Online Learning Hub and access materials, the virtual classroom (if you are attending an online course), and any course-specific information the Instructor Member needs to communicate. They will also include details on how to download and log in to the MHFAider Support App® and give an overview of the additional support you will receive for three years after you complete the course Once you have applied to attend a course, you will receive confirmation from your Instructor Member that you have been accepted onto the course. 

Once you have attended your course, you will receive an email from MHFA England asking for your feedback and giving you access to your Certificate of Attendance. 

The month after the last day of your course, you will receive another email from MHFA England welcoming you to access the additional support, reminding you of how to access the app and Online Learning Hub, as well as a reminder of the benefits of the ongoing learning opportunities.  

Your support and benefits package runs for three years and is activated once you have attended the last day of your course.

MHFAiders® will be given three months’ notice of expiry and given the opportunity to take the Refresher course. Completion of the Refresher course will renew this support for a further three years. 

The support package is made up of tools and resources to help MHFAiders® help themselves, look after their own wellbeing and understand common themes that will help them and their workplace.  

Through the MHFAider Support App®, you will have access to a dedicated 24/7 text service provided by Shout. This will provide advice and reassurance on a Mental Health First Aid conversation and support your wellbeing after a difficult conversation. 

Support will not include ad-hoc or on-demand phone or email support in how to have conversations or deal with an MHFA intervention. MHFA England remains a training organisation rather than a talking service or 24hour support. 

As a learner, as with any of our courses, you can capture any accessibility needs when you register for a course. These will be shared with your Instructor Member. They will contact you ahead of the course to chat through and agree any adjustments that will support your learning experience. 

If you want to chat through any accessibility needs, or need any support at any time, please contact the MHFA England Customer Service team at info@mhfaengland.org or on 0203 938 0760 from 8-4pm, Monday to Friday. 

We have large print versions of the manual and workbook available, as well as screen reader versions of the manual and workbook. We can discuss other requirements and adjustments with you. 

All the content that you will need to refer to during the course is included in the learner workbook. This acts like your handbook throughout the course. 
 
The manual is designed to be a resource that MHFAiders® can use for further information or to refer to after the course. 

Our research showed that almost 75% of learners rarely, if ever, consulted the manual after attending an MHFA course. One reason given for this was that the statistics, references and other information became out of date in time. Our new digital manual can be kept up to date more effectively and to be a useful resource for our learners after the course.  

We know that there will be circumstances where some people may want a hard copy resource. We are exploring the possibility of you being able to purchase hard copy MHFA manuals themselves. Please contact your Instructor Member in the first instance if this is something you are interested in.  

We have recently improved accessibility on the MHFAider Support App® by making the following changes: 

- Improved colour contrasts for text and how users interact with the app (e.g., buttons)
- Better compatibility with an external keyboard
- Improved how pages respond and compatibility with larger screen and device sizes
- Improved labelling of form controls to make the purpose clearer
- Improved compatibility with screen readers by redefining language and structure (e.g., ensuring the correct HTML tags are used)
- Using controls built for a device or operating system instead of custom controls (e.g., using the device’s calendar for setting reminders)  

Yes. To make the app as accessible as possible we have also developed a desktop version, which you can visit here. 

Your Instructor Member will send you detailed instructions about how to join before your first live session. These will be sent through the Online Learning Hub.

If you are not able or comfortable participating in the course with your camera on, then the Mental Health First Aid course is not the right one for you.  

There is nothing more important than your wellbeing. Our course has been designed to be delivered online and face to face and to ensure a safe environment for learners.  

One of the key safeguarding measures is to ensure that Instructor Members can see all learners and check for signs of anxiety or distress. This requires all learners to have their cameras turned on for live sessions.

In order to ensure a high-quality experience, your computer and internet connection speed should meet the following recommended system requirements: 

- Internet connection - Broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE)
- Speakers and microphone* – Either built-in, USB plug-in, or wireless Bluetooth 
- Webcam* - Either built-in or USB plug-in  

Firewall  
To participate in a live session, please ensure that the location you are connecting from allows for the streaming and downloading of real time video.   

Cookies  
Cookies must be enabled in order to use the Online Learning Hub. Extensions or browser configurations that block or disable cookies may prevent participants from joining a live session.

Please see below for further guidance on accessing the Online Learning Hub from different operating systems and software: 

Windows  
To access on Windows, you’ll need:  
- Windows 10, Windows 8 or 8.1, Windows 7 
- Chrome, Firefox, Edge, IE11 (with client)  
- Computer or laptop with Intel Pentium 4 processor or later that is SSE2 capable and 512 MB of RAM, or a Surface PRO 2 or Surface PRO 3  

Mac  
To access on Mac, you’ll need:
- Mac OS X, macOS 10.9 or later 
- Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari (coming soon) 
- Intel processor 64-bit and 512 MB of RAM  

Linux  
To access on Linux, you’ll need:
- Ubuntu 12.04, Mint 17.1, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.4, Oracle Linux 6.4, CentOS 6.4, Fedora 21, OpenSUSE 13.2, ArchLinux (64-bit only) 
- Chrome, Firefox 
- Intel Pentium 4 processor  

Chrome OS 
To access via Chrome, you’ll need:
- Chrome browser or Chromebook
- 2GB Ram  

iOS (iPhones and iPads)  
To access on iPhone, you’ll need:  
- iPhone 5S or later 
- Safari
- iOS 11 or later  

To access on iPad, you’ll need: 
- iPad Mini 3, iPad Air, iPad Pro, iPad (2017) or later 
- Safari 
- iOS 11 or later  

Android (phones and tablets)  
To use on Android phones or tablets, you’ll need:
- Android 4.0 or later
- Chrome 

You will be invited to join the live session approximately 15min before the Instructor Member starts the course.  

During this time, the Instructor Member will make introductions and take you through what you need to do to get settled, including ensuring the technology is working correctly.  

The MHFA England Online Learning Hub is an integrated learning platform that provides a one-stop "hub" for learners.  

From one login, you can attend your instructor-led live sessions (if you are doing an online course), view your digital MHFA manual and get access to exclusive webinars to continue your learning.  

The MHFA England Online Learning Hub works best when you use Google Chrome as your internet browser. However, the hub can also be used on Firefox and Edge, provided they are the most up to date versions of these browsers.   

The hub is also compatible with Apple Mac, although not yet with Safari (coming soon). To ensure the best learning experience, we do not recommend connecting via tablet/iPad at this stage.  

Once the Instructor Member confirms you as a learner on their course, you will receive an invitation with a link to the Online Learning Hub as well as login details.  

Should you have any issues please contact your Instructor Member who will be able assist. 

If you have forgotten your password, you can use the ‘forgotten password’ link on the home page of the MHFA England Online Learning Hub.  

This will require you to enter your email address and a link to reset your password will be sent to your registered email address. This password reset email will come from onlinelearninghub@mhfaengland.org. 

Please watch this ‘how to’ video guide for a demonstration on setting up your account.  
 
If you experience any issues with login or your password, please contact the enabley technical support team in the first instance, by emailing mhfa.learners@enabley.io. If they are unable to help, please contact your Instructor Member.  

You will receive a welcome email 7-10 days from MHFA England before your course start date with details about how to access the app. You will need to follow the steps in the email to create your details to log in.  

You can then download the app by searching ‘MHFA’ in either Google Play or in the App Store.  

You can also find the app by clicking on these links: 

- App Store (Apple)
- Google Play (Android) 
- Desktop version 

Your username is the email address that you or your employer used on your course booking. 

Once you’ve received an email with the registration details for the app, please click the link and enter your username. This is the email address you used when you registered on the MHFA course.  

You will then be asked to create a password. You’ll need to re-enter it a second time to confirm it.  

Once you’ve downloaded the MHFAider Support App® on your phone, use your email as your username and the password you just created to log in.  

Yes, when you go to the app login screen, click ‘forgot password?’ and enter the email address that you use to log in. 
 
You’ll be sent an email that will allow you to reset your password. If you don’t receive the email in your inbox, please check your junk mail.  

If you still can’t find this email, please contact our Customer Support team via email on info@mhfaengland.org or via telephone at 0203 928 0760 from Monday to Friday 8-4pm. 

Yes, the app has been built so that it is compatible with phones which use the iOS (Apple) and the Android operating system. The app will also work on iPads. 
 
If you are using iOS, the version required for the app to work is iOS10 or newer. If you are using Android, the version required is 5.0 or newer.  

Yes, there is a web app available to use on a desktop. You can access the desktop version through this link, here.   

If the app crashes or functionality is not working as you would expect, please close the app and reopen it. If the problem continues, please delete the app, and re-install it.  

If you still need support, please contact MHFA England’s Customer Support team via email on info@mhfaengland.org or via telephone at 0203 928 0760 from Monday to Friday 8-4pm. 

No, the app cannot be used offline. It requires connection to the internet to log in, to save conversation journaling and to access some of the resources.  

Yes, if your phone is set up with biometric or touch ID, you will be able to set this up to log in. 

We collect your first name, last name, and email address in order to create your app login. 
We retain your personal data for as long as you remain an active user of your account. If your app subscription ceases, your account will be deactivated, and your personal data deleted. 

The data collected by the app can be viewed by MHFA England. This helps us see the impact that MHFAiders® are having by seeing information such as:  

- The number of people who are being supported through Mental Health First Aid conversations
- The number of conversations MHFAiders® are having 
- The average duration of a Mental Health First Aid conversation 
- The most common situations that MHFAiders® are supporting 
- The most frequent professional supports that are being signposted to 
- This impact data will help MHFA England to improve our courses and the support and benefits that we offer to MHFAiders®

The app has been built to be GDPR compliant, and the privacy policy and the Terms and Conditions include clauses which cover this.  

The data that is logged is encrypted and stored on our secure, Microsoft Azure, platform. Data is only shared with this secure platform and the app will not allow access to any other personal data stored on an MHFAider®’s phone. 

If you have further queries about data protection, please contact MHFA England’s Customer Support team via email on info@mhfaengland.org or via telephone at 0203 928 0760 from Monday to Friday 8-4pm. 

We have a detailed legal FAQ document that we developed to support you and/or your workplace if you have further queries about data protection and GDPR. These data protection FAQs are not intended to replace any of your own organisation’s internal data protection policies and procedures, which MHFAiders® should ultimately adhere to as a priority.  

For more information about the app, its features and how to use them, please refer to the FAQs on the app itself.  

We know that a few workplaces have their own app already. We suggest showing the MHFAider Support App® and its benefits to your employer to understand more about the features and benefits to MHFAiders®. They may be able to support and complement one another.   

There may be some circumstances where a workplace would prefer not to use the MHFAider Support App®. If this is the case, please follow the guidance set by your employer. Learners will not be expected to download or access the app for their course.  

As the leading provider of MHFA training, our training is proven to make a lasting difference in a learner’s knowledge and confidence to provide mental health support, with 91% agreeing they have a better understanding of mental health following their MHFA England course. 

MHFA England training is key to creating a society where everyone’s mental health matters. Since we were founded in 2007, our Instructor Members have provided training to over 20,000 workplaces and over half a million MHFAiders®. 

Our Instructor Member training is accredited by the Royal Society of Public Health, meaning a quality assured and consistent training experience. We are the only licensed provider of MHFA training in the country and part of an international network, supporting global organisations with a consistent approach to training. 

MHFA England is a social enterprise, reinvesting our profits to provide subsidised training for organisations, such as the NHS. We also offer free training for Black-led organisations. 
 
With our MHFA offer you will get three years of access to an exclusive package of support and benefits. Through the MHFAider Support App®, exclusive resources, and ongoing learning opportunities, you will be able to keep your learning and confidence alive, quickly reference something, and understand what is current with mental health and wellbeing support. 

With this confidence, community, and ongoing learning, you will feel empowered to provide support where it’s needed so we can all improve the mental health of the nation.  

Our Customer Support team will be available via email on info@mhfaengland.org. and by phone on 0203 938 0760. Phone lines are open Monday – Friday from 8am-4pm. What should I do if I have more questions?