Have you ever been approached for support from somebody about their mental health?
A recent survey of communicators found that 20% of those who had sought support from colleagues with regards their mental health found that the person they spoke to, although sympathetic, did not know how best to support them.
With mental health distress increasingly common, many people have now undertaken the important role of becoming a Mental Health First Aider. However, you don’t have to be a Mental Health First Aider to find yourself approached for support from somebody about their mental health.
This shared experience from Laura Rosenthal, an Instructor member for MHFA England and crisis counsellor for shout, gives an overview of exactly HOW to speak to someone who is struggling – to get them to really open up and walk away from your interaction feeling a little lighter than they did beforehand. Many of us at some time have conversations that have gone really well, or for some reason the person has suddenly just shut down – so being aware of why this has happened will be a great learning point to gain from this session.
As well as giving a key overview of mental health first aid, she shares many of the techniques from her crisis counselling training to enable both trained Mental Health First Aiders or people new to mental health first aid, with a really good structure of how to start those vital conversations, as well as the confidence that they can, and will be able to help someone who needs it.
You can also download summary slides here: Mental-Health-Conversations