Originally developed at the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University and adapted and modified for Wales

Mental Health First Aid (Wales) Thursday 21 st February 2013 SOPHIE IRVINE / MHFA MARKETING OFFICER / MIND CYMRU

Introduction International Programme of training, originating in Australia, developed in Scotland in 2004 and launched in England in WG funded Instructor Training programme. Project managed by Mind Cymru. MHFA (Wales) project commenced November Youth MHFA commenced Summer 2010.

Supporting Partners Welsh Government Public Health Wales Health Boards Social services Our Instructors and their sponsors Health Challenge Wales Mind Cymru MHFA International MHFA in the rest of the UK YOU

Some facts about mental health  around 300 people out of 1,000 will experience mental health problems every year in Britain  230 of these will visit a GP  102 of these will be diagnosed as having a mental health problem  24 of these will be referred to a specialist psychiatric service  6 will become inpatients in psychiatric hospitals. (Based on figures from Goldberg, D. & Huxley, P, 1992, Common mental disorders ­ a bio-social model, Routledge.)

Impact of mental health problems 1 in 4 people will experience some form of mental health problems in any year (Goldberg, 1991). The economic and social cost of mental health problems is greater than that of crime and larger than total amount spent on all NHS and social services in the UK (HM Treasury, 2005).

Mental Health and Sickness Absence 4.5 days were lost due to sickness in 2011 in the UK (Office for National Statistics, 2012) Stress, anxiety and depression are responsible for 70 million days sick leave every year (The Centre for Mental Health, 2010) In , around 442,000 people reported that work-related stress made them ill (Mental Health First Aid England, 2011) Organisations with more than 500 employees in the UK had the highest percentage of working hours lost in 2011, at 2.3 per cent. (Official National Statistics, 2012) Wales was one of the highest percentages, at 2.5 per cent. (Official National Statistics, 2012)

Cost of Mental Health Problems Costs Wales £7.2bn a year (All Wales Mental Health Promotion Network 2010) and England £105.2 bn a year (The Centre for Mental Health, 2010). Cost to UK businesses in 2009/10 – was equivalent to £1206 per employee (Mental Health First Aid England, 2011) It estimates costs at over £1bn for the Welsh NHS, over £2.5bn in lost economic activity and nearly £3.5bn in the loss of quality of life for sufferers. Promoting good mental health could decrease these figures

Your team? Consider… Stigma Wellbeing agenda Your staff that are off sick Your staff that are in work Your approach to their mental health

Why Mental Health First Aid? Mental health problems are common. Stigma. Many people are not well informed about mental health or mental health problems. Appropriate help is not always on hand. People may lack the insight to realise that they need help or that help is available. The majority of people often do not know how to respond.

Mental Health First Aid (Wales) “Mental Health First Aid is exactly what it suggests, a first aid approach to mental health”. MHFA has become an international activity: Australia, Hong Kong, Finland, Singapore, Canada, Thailand, Japan, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales began late 2007.

Mental Health First Aid (Wales) Teaches people how to recognise the symptoms of mental health problems, how to provide initial help and how to guide a person towards appropriate help.

What is MHFA (Wales)? Aims: to preserve life where a person may be a danger to themselves or others, to provide help to prevent the mental health problems developing into a more serious state, to promote the recovery of good mental health, to provide comfort to a person experiencing mental distress.

MHFA (Wales) Format Session 1 - Introduction and Depression Session 2 -Depression and Suicide Session 3 -Anxiety disorders and self-harm Session 4 -Psychosis

Course Structure Delivered over 2 consecutive days or 1 day a week for two weeks or in four three-hour sessions, to a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 16 participants. Adult MHFAYouth MHFA Helping adults with mental health problems Helping yr olds with MH problems 4 x 3hr modules4 x 3 ½ hr modules 12 hour course14 hour course In house / external training In house or external training

The five basic steps The action plan for MHFA (Wales) has five basic steps: ALGEE A sk about suicide, L isten non-judgementally, G ive reassurance and information, E ncourage the person to get appropriate help and support, E ncourage self-help strategies.

MHFA (Wales) To date Around 70 MHFA Instructors ‘Approved’ by WG (teaching in the medium of English and Welsh) Approximately 10,000 trained in adult and youth MHFA (Wales). Around 100,000 trained in both MHFA and YMHFA in the UK.

Training Outcomes Randomised control trials in Australia, Scotland and recently in Wales (2011) showed -Increased confidence in helping others -Greater likelihood of directing towards appropriate help -Decrease in stigmatising attitudes -Surprising improvement in participants’ own mental health.

Opportunities Corporate Health Standards Wellbeing agenda Do you have a physical first aider? MHFA? Cost of absence –Every year 1 in 6 workers experience depression, anxiety and stress (Taking care of business, Mind campaign to improve workplace health) Stigma Increased awareness amongst colleagues

Don’t just take my word for it…. Feedback received from delegates - ‘Every employer/manager should do this’ - ‘Everyone should do it to heighten awareness’ - ‘I’ve gained insight into mental health and feel confident to use the techniques I have learnt’. What would you do to improve the training? –“Nothing, fantastic 2 day course, everything explained in detail, time for debating and discussion” (Youth Team Manager) –“I found the whole 2 days enlightening and informative” (CAB Manager)

Organisations we have trained Admiral Insurance Airbus UK Tata Steel HSBC Tesco MITIE Schaeffler (Ball Bearing Company) DVLA Cardiff University UniGlam And many more….

Will MHFA help me in my work? Right now, 1 in 6 workers is experiencing depression, anxiety or stress. That’s the elephant in the room If you are managing staff? YES If you work in a public facing role? YES If you have no medical training? YES If you work in another (not mental health) area? YES

The Elephant in the room

Will MHFA help me outside work? 1 in 4 people experience Mental Health problems 1 in 6 at any one time You WILL know someone experiencing mental health distress MHFA / YMHFA will help you to help them! YES!

Adult MHFA and YMHFA Instructor Training Mental Health First Aid (Wales) and Youth Mental Health First Aid (Wales) Instructor training programmes train people to deliver first aid training raising awareness of the importance of mental health and promoting recovery of those who might be experiencing mental health problems. If you are interested in becoming an approved instructor: Visit the MHFA (Wales) website for course dates on: wales.org.uk/ Follow us on

More information? Sophie Irvine MHFA Marketing Officer Mind Cymru T: E:

Useful links: MHFA (Wales): Scotland: England: Australia: