Youth MHFA – one day

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

The Aims

Our Youth MHFA One Day course qualifies you as a Youth Mental Health First Champion Youth Mental Health First Champions have:

• An understanding of common mental health issues and how they can affect young people
• Ability to spot signs of mental ill health in young people and guide them to a place of support
• Knowledge and confidence to advocate for mental health awareness
• Skills to support positive wellbeing

The Programme

We limit numbers to 16 people per course so that the instructor can keep people safe and supported while they learn. Young people are welcome on the course but if you’re under the age of 16 we need consent from your parent or guardian.

Learning takes place through a mix of presentations, group discussions and workshop activities. When you complete the course you will get:

• A Youth MHFA manual to refer to whenever you need it
• A certificate of attendance to say you are a Youth MHFA Champion