MHFA - Crisis First Aid

In addition to the umbrella intervention provided by ALGEE (Assess Risk, Listen non-judgementally, Give reassurance, Encourage referral to other agencies, Encourage self-help strategies), MHFA has strong and clear guidelines for crisis intervention. From MHFA:

       Crisis First Aid for someone experiencing an acute psychotic episode

• Do not get involved physically
• Call the police and explain what is happening, unless the person has a mental health crisis card with clear steps describing how you can help.
• Try to create a calm, non-threatening atmosphere.
• Be reassuring, calm and concerned.
• Do not try to reason with someone who is experiencing acute psychosis.
• Express empathy for the person’s emotional distress.
• Comply with reasonable requests.

Mental Health First Aid In Action

Testimonials and Feedback

MHFA Training delivered by Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind on behalf of the NE Mind Partnership have trained over 1800 individuals with outstanding feedback and results.

Mental Health First Aiders were asked for there stories on how MHFA has helped them. These are just a small selection;

I use MHFA daily, for example I had a tenant suffering a psychotic episode which I felt confident to deal with

I have used MHFA when a young Mum came into the centre and told me she felt like ending it all

I use it on a daily basis with clients and colleagues and feel I have made a real difference

I have a work colleague who suffers from epilepsy and associated depression and anxiety. I used ALGEE and offered advice and guidance over the phone.

Discussing Mainstream

Bridge building for mainstream is now incorporated into the care pathway for people recovering from mental health conditions.

Community mental health teams, occupational therapies, psychiatrists are all aware of the value of mainstream bridge building. Many community mental health teams actively promote mainstream as part of their in-house practice with clients. Service-user led initiatives are also widely encouraged.

Where mental health teams may not always the time and resources to promote mainstream fully, there are many outside organisations working alongside the teams. The benefits of referral to an outside non-clinical team can be considerable.

Mental health teams can often discuss mainstream with clients in a clinical or home setting. An outside organisation has more time and capacity to draw clients out into mainstream settings where a conversation can begin. This may well be and should be - a conversation about the client's hopes, dreams, goals and aspirations.

One of the bridge builder's roles is to help facilitate this conversation. Another role is to be clued-in with what mainstream has to offer. For example, a bridge builder specialising in arts and culture needs to know what outlets there are both locally and further afield. A client who wishes to develop skills in music production should be introduced to the mainstream venue or venues where this opportunity takes place.

History of Social Inclusion

Social Inclusion and mainstream arise out of a history and out of a history of ideas.

Government think-tanks in the late 1990s and early 2000s had a key role in developing current thinking and practice around social inclusion. The envisaging of 'social domains' relevant to people's lives arises from these seminal ideas. The role of mainstream bridge builder is also developed around the concept of mainstream as a pathway for mental health recovery.

Social Inclusion goes back even further. The single act of defiance by Rosa Parks in 1955 in Alabama Mississippi. A black woman refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white person, thereby defying the segregration laws. A key moment that lies at the heart of the civil rights movement, not just for the United States but for equality and social inclusion everywhere.

Equal opportunities, diversity, social inclusion and fairness are now commonplaces, enshrined in the way we strive to live and work today.

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Trainings

The next training for Planning for Good Mental Health & Social Inclusion takes place on July 6th from 9.30 - 4.30 p.m. at the Wilson Hospital in Mitcham.

Testimonials from previous and current trainings.

Planning for Good Mental Health & Social Inclusion

Training testimonials

'Such a huge subject - well covered in the time allotted'.

The course has enabled me to be 'more assertive in recognising and prioritising mental health issues'. I shall 'develop a knowledge base of local services and encourage others to make appropriate referrals'.

'John is a very calm person. Used the background music to create a non-threatening, relaxed atmosphere'.

I shall 'explore in greater depths what services are available to individual clients'.

'I feel I am more aware of what to look for in myself and others'.

The course 'has made me more aware of the need to ensure people return to mainstream after illness'.

'Ideas and information given to think outside the box'.

The course reinforced 'the importance of mainstream social inclusion'.

I now have 'more awareness of organisations and can utilise the social inclusion 'web' tool in assessments.'

MHFA Trainings

Helping employers to understand issues around mental health is fast becoming a key component of approaches to productivity, staff happiness, improved services and profits.

It is employers, managers and directors who are taking the lead on many of the new initiatives around mental health.

Supported by business ‘dragon’ Duncan Bannatyne, Mind’s ‘Taking care of Business’ campaign highlights the initiatives being taken by many employers around issues of mental health at work.

The Mind campaign underlines the message that the promotion of good mental health helps employers ‘increase productivity, improve staff performance and save thousands of pounds’.

Mind also hosts a series of follow-up programmes designed to actively encourage good mental health in the workplace.

Some of the companies who have signed up to support the Mind campaign include EDF energy, BT, Hewitt Consultancy, AXA and police and security services. James Kenrick at Hewitt Associates helped set up an Employee Assistance programme allowing staff access to counselling services where appropriate.

Hewitt also initiated a staff health audit which identified stress, anxiety and depression as ‘real issues within the organisation’. James Kenrick states that:

‘after the health audit we sourced a stress vocational rehabilitation service, which has a vocational focus and is staffed by psychologists. Employees who have been absent for 10 days or more are referred for an initial assessment, and recommended the most appropriate treatment plan. We have found that this service, along with early intervention, has greatly reduced the days lost through stress-related absence and stopped stress-related disability altogether’.

Proactive management of mental health in the workplace has allowed Hewitt Associates to save ‘nearly £400’ per employee. More importantly, as Kenrick states:

‘it's the intangible elements that are most rewarding. The feedback from staff who have been helped to recover from difficult circumstances has been exceptional’.

EDF Energy is a major electricity provider. A workplace audit showed that the company was losing around £1.4m in productivity each year as a result of mental ill health among its employees. As part of an Employee Support Programme the company offered psychological support (cognitive behavioural therapy) to employees and trained over 1,000 managers to recognise psychological ill health among staff and to minimise its effects. This resulted in an improvement in productivity which saved the organisation approximately £228,000 per year. Job satisfaction also rose from 36 to 68%
(Business in the Community, 2009).