Month: May 2017

MHFA Lite – Introduction to Mental Health

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This is a three-hour workshop comprising a foundation of knowledge on the area of Mental Health First Aid.

 

Key areas covered in this comprehensive course include:

 

  • Language & Stigma
  • What is Mental Health?
  • Some common Mental Health issues
  • Supporting people in distress
  • Personal wellbeing

 

The 17 delegates were from all levels of staff at a global professional services Firm based close to London Bridge.

 

Interaction flowed as knowledge was shared through the Graffiti Wall, Stress Container, personal experience films and colleague discussion.

 

It’s always a ‘wait with baited breath’ moment until the evaluation forms have been analysed to see how well the course and me, the instructor, were received……

 

Firstly a few thoughts on the course:

‘Amazing course, felt very emotional during the training.  Feeling more optimistic about how to approach mental health and well being’

‘A good course  which brought home the importance of caring for yourself whilst caring for others’

‘Fantastic training’

 

& The Instructor:

”Well delivered, good level of audience participation’

‘Clear and approachable, created a comfortable environment for questions’

‘Passionate & easy to follow’

Rated  very good (top mark) by 12 of the 17 and Good (second highest) by the remaining 5.

 

I look forward to the next course on 9 June 2017

 

Get in touch for more information on mental health & wellbeing training available…..

 

 

#MHAW2017

Jane JamesLeave a comment

So what does Mental Health Awareness Week mean?  It’s a great idea to get people talking about mental health.  After all, the mind is just another part of the body so why do we treat it differently to physical health?

 

There are so many buzz words/phrases around including ‘Take 10 At 10’ and ‘Green Light To Talk’ –  will these ideas really make a difference for the other 51 weeks of the year?

 

I guess the answer is really down to us individuals.  Are we going to be mindful of our own wellbeing as well as those around us both at home and work or are we reverting back to ‘ignore it and it’ll go aware’?  It’s a choice we all have.

 

But where did the negativity come from?  Try making a list of neutral words to describe mental ill-health and another one for negative words.  I bet your list for negative words is a lot longer than the neutral one.  We only have to think back to our childhoods at primary school and the awful names we called each other seem to still trip off the tongue.

 

When we look to the media, historically they have been offensive towards those suffering with mental health issues and supportive to physical issues.  Headlines from when Frank Bruno was sectioned caused outraged.  Yet the same newspaper published headlines supporting Kylie Minogue’s breast cancer fight!  Why treat a physical condition any differently to a mental health one?

 

Wouldn’t it be great if we could shake off the negativity we grew up with, not be afraid of ‘what ifs’ – ‘what if I ask xxx if they’re ok?’ ‘what if I call xxx to see how they’re doing whilst off work’… we can easily talk ourselves out of not caring because of ‘what ifs’.  Maybe we need to look at this a different way.  What if we do nothing? What world do we create?  What if the next person you hear of as being mentally unwell is someone you know?  What if it’s you?

 

Let’s get talking about mental health everyday.  Make it part of our DNA both at work – in team meetings etc and at home with family and friends.  What an amazing mentally healthy world we could create if we stopped being fearful and trusted our instinct to help.

 

Go on – you have the Green Light to Talk………. and to Listen!

 

 

The Baker’s Dozen Evaluation – Adult Mental Health First Aider Training

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Last week saw the delivery of MHFAEngland’s latest version of their 2-day Adult training programme in Mental Health which qualifies delegates to be First Aiders in this critical area.

 

The robust manual – heavy but yet of interesting facts, figures, resources takes the fear out of the subject.  The interactive sections – Graffiti Wall, Anxiety Face, Stress Container and Depression T-Shirt were well received.  The films brought home the key points.

 

So, what did the 13 managers from the private sector think of giving up two days to do this course?

 

Almost an even split on the question ‘As a result of the training, I am less likely to judge people with mental health issues negatively’ – 7 strongly agreed.  The 6 remaining Agreed.  So – some hearts and minds were definitely changed!

 

‘As a result of this training, I am more likely to consider mental health and mental ill health a normal part of everyday life’ – bigger shift here – 10 strongly agreed and remaining three agreed.

 

‘How would you rate the MHFA course’? – 100% rated it top marks with’ Very Good’.

 

As the Instructor – I’m very pleased to see 100% of the delegates gave me top marks  of ‘Very Good’!

 

Some general comments included:

 

‘Excellent’!’

‘Really well delivered course.  Feel like I’ve learnt plenty to take away and implement’

‘The course and its delivery was excellent – thank you’.

‘Extremely useful – sharing tools and giving confidence’

‘Excellent course.   I would like to see it rolled out to all managers’

 

If you have a business and want to upskill your employees in the field of mental health, why not get in touch to discuss how?

Mental Health First Aid – Lite

Jane JamesLeave a comment

Just been retained to deliver three workshops for 60 people in total for a global organisation with HQ in London.

 

With diverse backgrounds in the room, these should be an effective training sessions!

 

Lite is an introduction to the full Adult First Aid course.  It covers:

 

  1. Languages & Mental Health Issues
  2. What is Mental Health
  3. Mental Health Problems
  4. Supporting people in distress
  5. Managing our own well-being

 

Covering 3 hours, the course is designed to be a taster in understanding this complex subject.

Affirmation you are doing ok!…….

Jane JamesLeave a comment

The best part of running Growing Talent is to see the growth in Associates on the journey.  So my favourite part is reading their evaluations at the end of the Orientation Week.

 

This is carried out prior to them going on site and is intended to boost self-esteem and give guidance on communication in the workplace etc.

 

So what did they learn?

‘I am positive in the eyes of others as well as myself’

‘That I still have the fight and strength within to achieve any goal I aim for’

‘I can be more confident than I thought I could be’

‘That I am capable of more’

‘I REALLY love recycling’

‘It’s ok to be afraid, it’s how you overcome that obstacle’

‘I can do it!’

‘I  learnt I am pretty well spoken and ow to be a little more confident’

‘I’m stronger than I thought’

‘Determination has set in’

‘I can do things I never thought possible’

‘Yes I can do anything with a bit of motivation’

‘It made me a better person and how to deal with things better’

‘I can meet new people and enjoy time spent with they’.

 

Having written and deliver Growing Talent, I’m not complacent to believe I do everything right.  I include a section on me as a trainer on the Associates end evaluation forms just to keep me on my toes and effective…… What did you think of Jane James, the trainer?

 

‘Great guide, really clear and helpful’

‘Hardworking, caring, 100% behind all of growing talent associates, very good at her role’

‘Jane is very helpful and insightful but also nice to talk to about anything that’s bothering us’

‘Very helpful and knowledgeable’

‘Brilliant, nurturing, encouraging – an amazing mentor’

‘Brilliant mentor and very inspiring’

‘Fantastic!’

‘Jane has been huge help and I feel very comfortable with telling her about any difficulties.  She has been very supportive’.

‘Lovely, strong, supporting lady.  Would love to be kept in contact with her for many years’.

‘A bundle of information, knowledge & strength’

‘Such an inspiration – amazing!’

 

It’s good to know from those we work with how we are doing.  Why not try giving those you work with an evaluation on you?