FREE MENTAL health awareness courses are available to Wokingham residents, thanks to Activate Learning.
The education group has launched a scheme to help people get a better understanding of mental health in children and adults.
It was inspired to create the course after seeing the pandemic affect people’s wellbeing up and down the country.
The centre has produced two programmes, one focusing on children and young people’s mental health, and the other on awareness of mental health problems.
Both courses offer Level 2 qualifications, and anybody aged 19 and over can enrol.
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Pete Reynolds, director of career pathways at Activate Learning, said he hopes the courses help residents upskill and challenge their understanding of mental health.
“We know that more and more people, both younger and older, are accessing mental health services for help and support as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and everything that’s happened over the past year,” he said.
“Mental ill health is something that can affect anyone, regardless of who you are, where you’re from, your ethnicity or how much money you have in the bank.
“Because of this, there will be a need for more people to be aware of the signs to look out for [and] there will be those who will need help to understand what mental ill health is, and how to talk about it with people who might be experiencing it.”
A study released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) earlier this month reported that 21% one in five people were suffering from depression at the beginning of this year — twice the number reported in 2019.
To find out more about the courses on offer, visit: www.adult.activatelearning.ac.uk
