THE CHIEF executive of a borough charity is proud of his work training mental health first aiders.
Jake Morrison, head of Citizens Advice Wokingham has trained 539 people in the last 14 months.
Included in this figure were 301 people across the Citizens Advice service in England, 71 from Wokingham borough charities and 50 Wokingham Borough Council staff.
Mr Morrison said that he is really pleased that more people are equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to support people with their mental health and wellbeing.
He said that the training also helps to tackle any stigma and discrimination around poor mental health, and promotes recovery.
“This has a ripple affect on the people they then help,” Mr Morrison said.
Of the hundreds of people that he has personally taught, 78.7% had put some of their new skills into practice within three months of completing the qualification.
One student said they were better able to recognise their staff’s mental health.
“I have been able to give them the space to talk about client needs more often,” they said. “Because I do this for them, they can see it with their clients.”
Another student said that they have been supporting their colleagues to feel listened to and supported when overwhelmed.
Mr Morrison said that it means so much to him to hear feedback like this.
After the course, the majority of students also felt more confident in supporting others, and had greater knowledge about mental health illnesses as well.
Mr Morrison was also highly-rated as an instructor.
One person who completed the training said: “Jake was amazing. His approach to the course was very encouraging and his openness about his own health was inspiring and nothing felt robotic. A personal touch which helped the course.”
Another said that they loved Mr Morrison’s inclusivity.
They said: “He is a very engaging coach and very honest about his own mental health which made him a very authentic trainer.”
The mental health first aid training includes covering a variety of conditions, looking at how to respond, the prevalence of mental illness, empathy and creating action plans to support others.
The training is run online, and can be delivered over one day or two.
Mr Morrison said that the two-day course is the most effective, as it covers mental health and mental ill health, depression and suicide, anxiety, eating disorders and self-harm, psychosis, recovery and putting first aid into action.
The one-day course is for line managers and focuses on workplace mental health specifically.
For more information, visit: www.citizensadvicewokingham.org.uk/mental-health
