Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid

Date(s): 18 & 19 November 2026

Times: 9.15 arrivals for 9.30 - 4.30

Venue: In-person. All courses take place at accessible venues in Bristol

Course overview:

Mental Health First Aid teaches people how to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue. You'll develop the skills and confidence to start a conversation, and empower someone to access the support they might need for recovery or successful management of symptoms. You'll learn how to support positive wellbeing and tackle stigma.
MHFA course won’t teach you to be a therapist, but it will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis – and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.

Mental Health First Aid provides a framework for responding to emotional and mental health difficulties including anxiety, depression, self harm, suicide risk and psychosis. There is an emphasis on early intervention, promoting good mental health and linking individuals to resources and services that can help. This could include self-help books or websites, accessing therapy services through their GP, their school or place of work, online self-referral, support groups, and more.

This course qualifies you as a Mental Health First Aider®. Participants receive:

•  a digital manual and ongoing learning events through an Online Learning Hub
• an invitation to join the Association of Mental Health First Aiders
• access to resources for post-training support via the MHFAider® support app
• a certificate from MHFA England that will last for 3yrs

Aim(s):

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) teaches people how to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue. MHFA won’t teach you to be a therapist, but it will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis – and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.

Objectives:

By the end of the course participants will have had opportunities to:

• Learn how to recognise those that may be experiencing poor mental health
• Develop confidence to provide people with first-level support and early intervention
• Learn how to encourage a person to identify and access sources of professional help and other supports for recovery or successful management of symptoms.
• Practise active listening and empathy
• Develop skills to have a conversation with improved mental health literacy around language and stigma
• Understand the MHFAider® role, including boundaries and confidentiality
• Identify ways to practise self-care
• Know how to use the MHFAider Support App®
• Know how to access a dedicated text service provided by Shout and ongoing learning opportunities with MHFA England.

Maximum group size: 16