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- 20% of children and young people aged 8 – 25 years have a mental health condition (1)
- Approximately 63% of mental health conditions develop before the age of 25 (2)
- 561 people between the ages of 10–24 died by suicide in 2022 in England and Wales (3)
- 20% of children aged 10–15 years in England and Wales have experienced cyberbullying (4)
- About 18% of students aged 12—17 report self-harming at some point in their life (5)
Record levels of young people are struggling. Academic pressure, social media, bullying, poverty, lack of availability of professional mental health support – all have been named by various sources as contributing to this epidemic of poor mental health in our young people.
It’s clear that young people are not getting the support they need. Key figures in a young person’s life – parents, family members, teachers, tutors, carers, youth workers – can often spot when a young person is struggling but may not know how best to help.
Our Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses are for anyone who works with, lives with or supports young people aged 8-18. We train the adults in a young person’s life to have the skills and confidence to step in, offer first aid and guide them towards the support they need. In doing so, they can speed up a young person’s recovery, stop issues from developing into a crisis, and ultimately save lives.
But more than that, by giving these adults the information and skills to look after their own mental health, we want them to set an example for young people. We want adults to be able to show young people that mental ill health is a part of life in just the same way as physical ill health, that it’s OK to talk about and it’s OK to ask for help. We hope that by giving people the tools to open up these conversations, we can empower them to create mentally healthy, supportive environments in their families, schools, youth groups and communities.
Let’s create a future where we all know how to look after our own mental wellbeing, so preventable issues don’t arise in the first place. A future where every young person has access to support if they need it.
Get in touch with our team to discuss your organisation's requirements.
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 prefer to book directly with one of our independent Instructor Members. Find courses running near you.
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.
Take a look at our free downloadable resources for young people's mental health including a list of helpful organisations, guidance for having a supportive conversation, film clips, an interactive quiz and more. See the latest resources.
References:
1. Newlove-Delgado T, Marcheselli F, Williams T, Mandalia D, Dennes M, McManus S, Savic M, Treloar W, Croft K, Ford T. 2023 Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2023. NHS England, Leeds. Available from: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2023-wave-4-follow-up#resources
2. Solmi M, Radua J, Olivola M, Croce E, Soardo L, Salazar de Pablo G, Il Shin J, Kirkbride JB, Jones P, Kim JH, Kim JY, Carvalho AF, Seeman MV, Correll CU, Fusar-Poli P. Age at onset of mental disorders worldwide: large-scale meta-analysis of 192 epidemiological studies. Mol Psychiatry. 2022;27(1): 281–295. Available from: nature.com/articles/s41380-021-01161-7
3. Office for National Statistics. Dataset Suicide Occurrences in England and Wales [Internet]. 2022 [cited 19 February 2024]. Available from: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2022registrations
4. Office for National Statistics. Online bullying in England and Wales: year ending March 2020 [Internet]. 2020. Available from: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/onlinebullyinginenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2020
5. Geulayov G, Casey D, McDonald KC, Foster P, Pritchard K, Wells C, et al. Incidence of suicide, hospital-presenting non-fatal self-harm, and community-occurring non-fatal self-harm in adolescents in England (the iceberg model of self-harm): a retrospective study. The Lancet Psychiatry [Internet]. 2018 Feb 1 [cited 2018 Oct 15];5(2):167–74. Available from: thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(17)30478-9/fulltext