Youth Mental Health First Aid
The two-day courseWhat we learn…
For youth workers, teachers and parents…
In an average class of thirty fifteen year olds, three will have a diagnosed mental health condition, ten will have parents living separately, seven are being bullied, six have self-harmed and three are being bullied online.
We will learn about the massive changes take place in the human brain between the ages of 8 and 18, and about the world our young people are trying to navigate.
The main mental health issues will be covered in depth. This includes depression, anxiety, and psychosis. We will pay more attention to self-harm and eating disorders than we do in the adult course.
We will learn an action plan to help us support young people, as well as honing our lisening skills.
Each course member receives a superb course manual which is also a useful reference book, and a certificate.
Learning styles…
As you can imagine, the youth course is very creative and sparky. We create four characters and watch their development as they face various mental health challenges.
There are also presentations, videos, and discussions. We will also take time to practice key skills such as non-judgemental listening.
I like to draw out the knowledge and experience available in each group – including lived experience of mental health issues. Yet this is entirely voluntary and no-one is under pressure to do so.
We always maintain a safe environment where we can talk about sensitive issues with confidence.
It will be informative, engaging and – I hope – a little bit life-changing too!
