|
In addition, Chantal is involved in Mental Health Training and Personal Development. She has many years experience as a Management Consultant working with large companies and banks in Africa and the UK. In addition, over the past seven years she has trained in psychotherapy, counselling and mental health. She now offers a full range of training, which includes the Scottish Mental Health First Aid Certificate Course/Team Building and Self Care for Health Professionals. We also offer additional courses in Mindfulness/Cognitive Behaviour Therapy/ Stress Reduction.
Courses include: - Finding a work/life balance and self-care for carers and Health Care Professionals
- Various Team Building Workshops and Day Programmes
 What is mental health? Mental health influences how we think and feel about ourselves and others and how we interpret events. It affects our capacity to learn, to communicate and to form, sustain and end relationships. It also influences our ability to cope with change, transition and life events for example: having a baby, experiencing bereavement, and going to prison. (Friedli 2004) The 12-hour SMHFA training course aims to help people to: - Preserve life where a person may be a danger to themselves or others
- Provide help to prevent the mental health problem developing into a more serious condition
- Promote recovery of good mental health
- Provide comfort to a person suffering from a mental illness
The Scottish Executives’ National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-Being has the following vision:
The National Programme has four main aims: - Raise awareness and promote positive mental health and well-being
- Eliminate stigma and discrimination in relation to mental ill health
- Prevent suicide and support people who have been bereaved by suicide victims
- Promote and support recovery
MHFA does not teach people to be therapists. However, it does teach people: - To recognise the symptoms of mental health problems
- To provide initial help
- To guide people towards appropriate professional help
For more information please go to: http://www.healthscotland.org.uk/smhfa  NEWS RELEASE Monday 20 June 2005
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID
Improving and saving lives in Scotland Thousands of Scots are to benefit from a groundbreaking initiative to improve early recognition of the signs of common mental health problems.
Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid (SMHFA) training programme was launched today, Monday 20 June 2005, at COPE in Drumchapel by Deputy Minister for Health Rhona Brankin on behalf of NHS Health Scotland. Speaking at the launch, Ms Brankin said: “Good mental health underpins all health, and early support is vital for anyone experiencing mental health problems that affect their day-to-day lives. That is why this training is so important. It gives people the knowledge, skills and confidence to support their friends, family, work colleagues and others who may be experiencing mental health problems. The benefits of mental health first aid are priceless. There is no doubt about it, mental health first aid helps both improve and save lives.” SMHFA, which is being rolled out across Scotland by NHS Health Scotland, is a training course based on the well-known concept of first aid training. It teaches the general public, frontline public service workers and employees to recognise the signs and symptoms of someone with mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and psychosis, and to help deal with a crisis situation by guiding someone towards professional and other help. Graham Robertson, Chief Executive of Health Scotland, said: “The training was first developed at the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University, and has been adapted for Scotland by Health Scotland as part of the work of the Scottish Executive’s National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-being. We feel that it is a course that is accessible to all and will assist with a better understanding of mental health problems and what people can do to support others.” Betty Kitchener, founder of Mental Health First Aid from the Australian National University, commented: “Scotland is leading the way with Mental Health First Aid in Europe. I see this as the catalyst for Mental Health First Aid spreading across the UK and Europe. Whenever I am in Scotland I am impressed by the enthusiasm and dynamism shown towards improving the nation’s mental health.” The training course was piloted in Scotland in 2004 and has already proved successful with individuals working in a wide range of areas, including the public and voluntary sectors, further education colleges, JobCentrePlus, the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Scottish Prison Service. Already this year nearly 70 people have completed the SMHFA Instructors training. These Instructors have achieved their training certificate and will now organise and run SMHFA courses all over Scotland. Over the next three years 300 SMHFA Instructors will be trained. By 2008 a target of 40,000 people in Scotland will have completed the 12-hour course. A key message that the trainees take from the training is that with the right understanding, empathy and support, people with mental health problems can and do get better. Linda Goslan, a recipient of assistance from a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, said: “I have suffered from severe depression for about 9 years. I was unable to work for extended periods of time. My current employer is understanding and supports me by tailoring my working hours. It wasn’t until a friend shared her knowledge from her training as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor that I realised that it would take more than doctors’ appointments and medication to help make me better. In fact, I had convinced myself that I would be living with depression for the rest of my life. My friend showed me otherwise. I know now that I can help myself with the right support to take more positive steps to recover.” Notes to Editors: 1. Ms Brankin launched the SMHFA programme today at C.O.P.E. (Caring for Other People’s Emotions) the mental/emotional health care service in Drumchapel. For more information on Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid courses, how to become an Instructor and all other information, please visit www.smhfa.com 2. The 12-hour SMHFA training course aims to help people to: - Preserve life where a person may be a danger to themselves or others;
- Provide help to prevent the mental health problem developing into a more serious state;
- Promote recovery of good mental health;
- Provide comfort to a person suffering from a mental illness.
3. Evaluation commissioned by NHS Health Scotland has been published on the results of the Scottish pilot of the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training course in 2003. The pilot training course was attended by around 900 individuals from all over Scotland. These participants came from a wide range of backgrounds including, the NHS, public sector, further education, workplace settings, voluntary sector, local authorities, JobCentrePlus, Scottish Ambulance Service, Scottish Prison Service and the general public. 4. The Scottish Executive’s National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-being has the following vision: to improve the mental health of everyone in Scotland and to improve the quality of live, well-being and social inclusion of people who experience mental illness or mental health problems. |
