Mental Health First Aiders - What are They?
As this week has been Mental Health Awareness Week (15th to 21st May 2023), we wanted to take the space to share on what Butterfly has been committing to, in terms of raising Mental Health Awareness and in taking care of our team - most recently in training up several colleagues as qualified Mental Heath First Aiders.
We wanted to share some insight as to what Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) are all about, what benefits come from having MHFAs within your workplace, and to inform our readers that Butterfly Data now has staff that are qualified MHFA’S.
Mental Health discussions are commonly shied away from, there is plenty of stigma around this subject and it is down to us all to break the barrier regarding this.
Mental health issues in the workplace are common, we spend a large amount of our daily lives at work, so the chances are high that we could encounter mental ill health in our staff. There is stigma associated with mental ill health - this can prompt people to hide their difficulties from others. If we have a better understanding this can help reduce prejudice and discrimination. Unaddressed mental health issues in the workplace are costly - this is reflected in sickness absence, lower productivity levels and a less engaged workforce.
Many people are not well informed when it comes to finding help or being made aware of what type of help may be useful. Physical first aid is about providing help to a sick or injured person until professional medical treatment is found. Comparably, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is the help offered to a person developing a mental health issue, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health issue or in a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate professional help is received or until the crisis appears to have passed.
Mental Health First Aid will typically be offered by someone who is not a mental health professional but rather by someone who is in the person’s work or social circle. I.E HR, career mentors & colleagues.
The MHFA course teaches people how to spot the early signs of a mental health issue and learning how to offer and provide initial help and direction towards appropriate treatment and professional help. An MHFA qualified employee does NOT have the ability to provide a diagnosis or therapy.
If you feel your company would benefit from having MHFA’s here is the link to find out more information and sign up to the courses. https://www.transpiretraining.com/book-mhfa-online
