Mental Health First Aid at Work
15th July 2015
First aid at work has is commonplace. Every office has a first aider and most companies require their employees to undergo mandatory first aid training. In recent years however there has been increasing recognition that a different type of first aid is needed: Mental Health First Aid.
When you ask a co-worker how they’re doing or how their weekend went 9/10 you’ll get a vague response along the likes of “OK” or “Fine, thanks” but what if a co-worker responded that they were struggling with their mental health? That they were feeling particularly low or anxious that day? Would you feel able to offer support or reassurance or would you struggle to know the right thing to say and hurriedly remove yourself from the conversation? Many people would automatically respond with the latter. This is not to say most people are not empathic, understanding individuals who would normally jump at the chance to help a co-worker in need but most people are too often afraid to discuss mental health issues directly either due to stigma or a fear of the unknown or of making things worse somehow. Given that we spend most of our time at work and that it can be responsible for a large amount of the stress we experience it makes sense that there exists an initiative to help identify and help those struggling with mental health issues at work.
Mental Health First Aid England has been training Mental Health First Aiders in the UK since 2007 with the understanding that Mental Health needs to be understood and talked about in the same way as physical health. The organisation runs regular courses that teach people how to “recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues, provide help on a first aid basis and effectively guide someone towards the right support services.”
The aim is to have a Mental Health First Aider in every office so that people can begin to feel comfortable opening up at work and feel able to admit when they might be struggling. Some examples of the work a Mental Health First Aider might do with employees range from simply providing a space to chat openly, helping them to arrange a more flexible working pattern, teaching strategies to manage anxiety in the workplace and encouraging people to leave work at a reasonable time. First Aiders are trained to recognise the signs of and help those experiencing anxiety and depression as well as more urgent situations like psychosis or suicidal thoughts. That being said, it is not only those with pre-existing conditions that can benefit from their expertise. Most people could use some help in managing their work-life balance or some stress management strategies.
Increasingly, Mental Health First Aiders are becoming more commonplace in offices across the UK. Hopefully this will lead to more people feeling able to open up about their experiences and will promote cultures of sensitivity and support for those who need it.