Nicki writes:
After a two-day training course, I am proud to be a fully qualified mental health first aider.
I attended the MHFA England mental health first aid training in Ashford on 12 – 13 February. I was a bit apprehensive at first, but it was really good. In fact, I loved it, and couldn’t wait to go back the next day.
It was a very in-depth course, covering difficult subjects.
The main learning was about listening: to listen more, not to judge people, how to support people. You don’t want people to be scared to come to you if they have a problem. It is important to learn to be approachable.
The course teaches you that people have issues, and it’s important to look further. Don’t be judgemental and especially don’t judge by appearances.
A really nice atmosphere
There was a variety of people on the course. It included office managers, civil engineers, project managers, and we all worked well together, with a really nice friendly atmosphere.
I was originally going to attend last year, but it had to be put off. I’m so glad I finally managed to get to do it. I’m proud to be one of VGC’s mental health first aiders – there are twelve of us now. (That’s on top of all the mental health champions who have done VGC’s shorter course.)
It was a really good course and I really enjoyed it. I strongly recommend it to anyone.
