Advice hub. Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid.

£295+VAT

Become one of Hospitality Action’s qualified Mental Health First Aiders by completing our accredited 2-day programme. We offer open online or in-person courses or can arrange our trainer to hold MHFA or bespoke sessions onsite for your teams.

Course dates for 2025:

February 26 - 27 (online)
May 20 – 21 (in-person)
October 14- 15 (online)

If you are already a Mental Health First Aider and need to update your qualification, there are spaces on the following half day refresher course:

January 22, 10am – 2pm, £135

Course Content.

MHFA doesn’t train you to be a therapist but to spot the signs if someone is experiencing a crisis and how to initially support them (just as a with physical first aid),

It also gives learners a knowledge around mental health stigma and illnesses including; Depression, Anxiety, Suicide , Self Harm, Eating Disorders and Psychosis.

MHFA takes a holistic person-centred approach to mental health and mental ill-health, it takes into account both the social model and medical model of mental illness. The skills learnt in MHFA can also come in useful when looking after your own wellbeing.

Those who attend the whole course become accredited Mental Health First Aiders and hold the qualification for 3 years as happens with a physical first aid courses.

Train as a Mental Health First Aider (MHFAider^®) and receive three years of support and benefits.

This course is ideal for those who would like to become an MHFAider^® to:

Gain the knowledge and skills to spot signs of people experiencing poor mental health
Be confident starting a conversation and signpost a person to appropriate support

Alongside the best evidence-based Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, MHFAiders^® are also provided with three-year access to ongoing learning and support through the MHFAider Support App^®.

The app gives you 24/7 digital support, access to exclusive resources, ongoing learning opportunities, and the benefit of joining England’s largest community of trained MHFAiders^®.

Benefits of MHFA.

Reduces stigma around mental ill health
Gives you increased confidence to have a supportive conversation about mental health
Promotes equity and understanding around mental health from different perspectives
Helps to build supportive workplace/community and promotes open conversations about mental health
Encourages self-care, giving you the tools to look after your own and others' mental health
Promotes early intervention and recovery, which can prevent an individual's mental health deteriorating

Learning outcomes.

As an MHFAider^® you will be able to:

Recognise those that may be experiencing poor mental health and provide them with first-level support and early intervention
Encourage a person to identify and access sources of professional help and other supports
Practise active listening and empathy
Have a conversation with improved mental health literacy around language and stigma
Discuss the role in depth, including boundaries and confidentiality
Practise self-care

Why choose Hospitality Action?

All of our content is designed specifically for the unique demands of the hospitality sector. We understand the challenges our industry can bring and we make sure our content is geared towards the operational reality of our fast-paced and demanding workplaces.

If you also subscribe to our EAP, your MHFA practitioners will also benefit from access to our 24/7 EAP assistance line for advice and support from our clinicians.

We can also offer onsite MHFA training to UK hospitality business please email eap@hospitalityaction.org.uk for further details.

About our trainer.

Emma Keeble, Hospitality Action Ambassador, MHFA England Instructor Member and HR Consultant, Anchor People

Emma is accredited to deliver mental health workshops on behalf of MHFA England and these are licensed by Public Health England.

Emma provides safe spaces for learners and believes in the importance of sharing her own lived experience of mental ill health in order to tackle stigma and ensure that no one has to suffer in silence

Previous to setting up Anchor People and providing companies with Mental Health training and wellbeing support, Emma was People Director for a hospitality management company (and EAP subscriber for many years) and had worked in the hospitality industry for over 20 years, this understanding of the industry really helps when adding real life examples to her sessions.