Mental Health First Aid Courses for all workplaces
The First Aid Training Co-operative’s suite of Mental Health First Aid training courses have been developed in conjunction with Mental Health expert Brian Glass from Changes East Lothian, to support our clients across all sectors with their organisations’ approach to team wellbeing.
The HSE recommends that mental health needs of the workforce are considered as part of a First Aid needs assessment. We’d go further than that though and say that the mental health needs of the workforce are essential part of any employer’s assessment.
A recent report found that almost half of UK workers are ‘running on empty,’ with burnout, mental ill health, and work-related stress now costing the UK economy £28 billion annually. Poor mental health accounts for more than half of all work-related illnesses. Around 51% of long-term sick leave is due to stress, depression, or anxiety. It is known that mental health issues cost business more than physical first aid injuries like back problems.
Which Mental Health First Aid Course Should We Do?
Mental Health First Aid courses for the workplace
Your first aid needs assessment should guide you in choosing the type and number of Mental Health First Aid trained personnel you need. Similarly to physical first aid, ideally there should be enough Mental Health First Responders to cover an entire organisation, including different shifts, premises or floors within a premises, holidays and sickness, etc. You might then supplement that cover with personnel trained in Mental Health Awareness, who can provide support to the Mental Health First Responders. We also have a Mental Health First Aid Annual Update course, this is 3 hours of self-paced online learning to keep your trained personnel up to speed each year.
Please contact us if you are unsure on your requirements, we’ll be happy to discuss them with you and help you decide what will be most cost-effective for your organisation.
Mental Health Awareness for Outdoor Practitioners Course
Developed in partnership with outdoor sector experts and our own extensive experience as outdoor practitioners, this course provides the outdoor worker with confidence in navigating complex situations, with colleagues, clients or young people in difficult environments. Essential CPD for outdoor practitioners, this course gives relatable tools, advice, and scenario based learning and discussion, to help equip you to support your clients and colleagues. This course is designed for all types of outdoor instructors, guides, leaders, as well as Rescue Team members.
Mental Health First Aid Course List
Mental Health First Responder
- Equivalent to both the MHFA England and Scottish Mental Health First Aid (SMHFA) courses which are delivered in partnership with the English and Scottish NHS respectively. Our blended learning approach means that the first day is done online at your own pace, followed by a face to face day with a priority on scenario based learning. This is an assessed qualification with a certificate validity of 3 years.
- Course length: 14 Hours / 2 days, blended learning.
- Maximum Candidates: 16 : 2 trainers per course.
- Further info and course content
Mental Health Awareness
- This is a single day of face to face learning. Gives an introduction to Mental Health issues, how to recognise early warning signs of mental health distress. This course is not assessed, and should not be considered a substitute for a full 2 day Mental Health First Responder course.
- Course length: 6 hours / 1 day.
- Maximum Candidates: 12 : 1 trainer per course.
- Further info and course content
Mental Health Awareness for Outdoor Practitioners
- This is a single day of face to face, scenario based learning and discussion. Essential CPD for the Outdoor Practitioner. This course is not assessed, and should not be considered a substitute for a full 2 day Mental Health First Responder course.
- Course length: 7 Hours / 1 day.
- Maximum Candidates: 12 : 1 trainer per course.
- Further info and course content
Intro to Mental Health First Aid / Annual Refresher
- Suitable for those curious about Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), or maybe an employer who wants their whole team to do some basic training in it. It is also aimed at those who have done a MHFA course with another provider, or one of our Mental Health First Responder courses, and want to do an annual refresher.
- An online self-paced module to help you stay up to date. Does not refresh your qualification, but does help you prevent skill fade.
- Course length: 3 hours self-paced online learning module.
- Further info and registration
CPD Point Value
The following organisations award CPD points to members who complete these courses. Click into each course above for further info.
Mental Health First Aid Manual
In support of these courses we have developed a brand new Mental Health First Aid digital manual. Downloadable onto your phone, tablet or computer, this manual follows our practical and easy to understand advice and means you always have a reference in your pocket.
All course candidates are provided with a copy of our Mental Health First Aid digital manual as part of their course.
Booking for a course for your organisation?
Our private courses are delivered at your choice of venue, at a time and date to suit you, at locations across the UK. We’ll come to you and tailor your course to suit your specific situation.
Course Pricing
Our Mental Health First Aid course pricing reflects the pricing model of our physical First Aid courses, and are in fact cheaper per person as we can take up to 16 candidates. That way, you know exactly what you’re paying, with no expenses or surprises, and hopefully means that these courses will be more affordable for all of our clients.
About Changes East Lothian
Changes have been helping provide free, non-judgmental, confidential support to help their clients achieve and maintain positive mental health and wellbeing, since 1996! Brian Glass from Changes has spoken at two of our First Aid Conferences and has partnered with us on developing these courses as a means to spread the impact of positive mental health support beyond East Lothian.
Book Public courses
Our Mental Health First Responder courses are also available publicly for individuals to join. Register now for your preferred course using the calendar below.
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Sep 202622
Mental Health First Responder 2 Days
Inverness Youth Hostel, Inverness 4 weeks totalSessions
In Person
Tue 22 Sep 08:45 - Tue 22 Sep 17:00Inverness Youth Hostel, Inverness2 Days, 14 Hours Blended Learning, this course trains the candidate to be a Mental Health First Responder in the workplace and to deal with immediate mental health issues. This course is equivalent to both the NHS England Mental Health First Aider course and the Scottish SMHFA course.- £170.00 excl. VAT
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Oct 202626
Mental Health First Responder 2 Days
Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton 4 weeks totalSessions
In Person
Mon 26 Oct 08:45 - Mon 26 Oct 17:00Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton2 Days, 14 Hours Blended Learning, this course trains the candidate to be a Mental Health First Responder in the workplace and to deal with immediate mental health issues. This course is equivalent to both the NHS England Mental Health First Aider course and the Scottish SMHFA course.- £170.00 excl. VAT
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Nov 202620
Mental Health First Responder 2 Days
EICA:Ratho, Edinburgh 4 weeks totalSessions
In Person
Fri 20 Nov 08:45 - Fri 20 Nov 17:00EICA:Ratho, Edinburgh2 Days, 14 Hours Blended Learning, this course trains the candidate to be a Mental Health First Responder in the workplace and to deal with immediate mental health issues. This course is equivalent to both the NHS England Mental Health First Aider course and the Scottish SMHFA course.- £170.00 excl. VAT
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Feb 202709
Mental Health First Responder 2 Days
Inverness Youth Hostel, Inverness 4 weeks totalSessions
In Person
Tue 09 Feb 08:45 - Tue 09 Feb 17:00Inverness Youth Hostel, Inverness2 Days, 14 Hours Blended Learning, this course trains the candidate to be a Mental Health First Responder in the workplace and to deal with immediate mental health issues. This course is equivalent to both the NHS England Mental Health First Aider course and the Scottish SMHFA course.- £170.00 excl. VAT
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Apr 202726
Mental Health First Responder 2 Days
Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton 4 weeks totalSessions
In Person
Mon 26 Apr 08:45 - Mon 26 Apr 17:00Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton2 Days, 14 Hours Blended Learning, this course trains the candidate to be a Mental Health First Responder in the workplace and to deal with immediate mental health issues. This course is equivalent to both the NHS England Mental Health First Aider course and the Scottish SMHFA course.- £170.00 excl. VAT
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May 202721
Mental Health First Responder 2 Days
EICA:Ratho, Edinburgh 4 weeks totalSessions
In Person
Fri 21 May 08:45 - Fri 21 May 17:00EICA:Ratho, Edinburgh2 Days, 14 Hours Blended Learning, this course trains the candidate to be a Mental Health First Responder in the workplace and to deal with immediate mental health issues. This course is equivalent to both the NHS England Mental Health First Aider course and the Scottish SMHFA course.- £170.00 excl. VAT
Can't find the right course or dates for you?
We offer a wide range of courses across the UK. Questions? Need something more bespoke? We're here to help. Call us on 0333 4330 731 or email us.
Over 7,000 students each year learn life saving skills on our courses, read our reviews…
Reviews
An excellent First Aid At Work/Equestrian course today. A really good mix of practical role plays and discussion/slide based content. Our trainers, Rachel and Molly, were brilliant. They were both professional, friendly, supportive and approachable. The course was very enjoyable without detracting from the seriousness of the topics being covered.
Excellent, entertaining and very practical.
Fantastic 3 days training with Suzie. Amazingly interactive course with opportunities to work in realistic environments and scenarios tailored to your workplace. Suzie is an extremely knowledgeable trainer and puts you at ease immediately. We've left with an abundance of new knowledge and confidence!
Wonderful trainer. Kept it exciting and vibrant!
Great training and enjoyable experience
Engaging teacher, great course content and suitable for our specific needs. 5 stars!
Absolutely brilliant course! So informative and has really built my confidence
The course was really good! Engaging and informative, at no point did I think "when is this over" like with other courses of similar nature I've done in the past. Susie was funny and so knowledgeable, and tailored the content to the needs of our work. Five stars!
Absolutely amazing. Very interactive and practical.
Excellent course, great instructors and fantastic lay out also covered alot of aubjects.
Had a wonderful one day course taught by Cameron. Full of hands on experience and richly informative. Really helps to build your confidence in responding to a first aid incident through learning by doing. I'd highly recommend them!
Fantastic course, very engaging presenters with lots of practical scenarios both demonstrated and carried out be the attendees. Very worth while for multiple workplaces.
Great course, Suzie was very engaging and the 6 hours flew by. Thank you very much, feel a lot more confident to carry out first aid now!
Brilliant course, beautifully delivered. Thank you Sam!
Thank you! It was very practical and useful!
thank you so so much!!! the session was so practical and i learnt so much crucial life skills. i think the amount of “hands on” stuff was just great and i loved the way course was presented!!!!
Great day. Very interesting and interactive
Very useful. Very informative and interesting. Well presented
Sam was fantastic and engaging.
Excellent class, lots of information, very engaging teachers. Feel prepared and confident to help
Very interesting and detailed 2 day outdoor first aid training. The two first aiders Steve and Isa were brilliant and I would highly recommend picking this course with them
Great course, really useful and very well taught
Excellent course - very informative with lots of hands-on practice. Brilliant instructor (Molly). Thank you!
Brilliant, hands-on course! Molly was excellent & we covered a lot of general & equestrian first aid. Thank you!
Excellent trainer, detailed, learned so much!
Dave was a superb tutor, knowledgable and engaging. Great course excellent content - thanks
This was a brilliant course, Dave was an excellent instructor
Fantastic trainer, very well informed and professional
Molly was fantastic in our training session, it was very engaging and informative. She gave great advice and memorable phrases to help us remember key things in first aid.
Great training delivered by Molly, really informative and interactive to help learn practical elements.
Really loved this course, was very informative and Molly was very engaging. Great fun but also learning all we need to help us within our work place.
A really informative course delivered by Molly. Covered all the key tops in an engaging way. Thank you!
Really fun and useful day - Molly was a great trainer!
Very informative and insightful & the hands on element really helped with learning the correct techniques.
This paediatric aid course was brilliant! The instructor Mike was super knowledgeable and made learning about CPR and bandaging techniques really engaging. Highly recommend!
Had the best 2 days on the paediatric First Aid Course with Mike. Delighted with all aspects of the training. Would definitely recommend this course to anyone who works with children. Thanks 😊
Great course, I did paediatric first aid over two days, and learned some new things amd reinforced lots of previous knowledge.
Helpful and relaxed. Covered a lot of topics but took care to make sure the most vital cpr parts were covered. Plenty of practical tasks and care taken in showing traumatic images. Thanks.
Great training - clear explanations and facilitation
Excellent course, very informative & engaging.
Great training; friendly, informative and hands-on. Highly recommend
I feel prepared to do first aid in the outdoors safely! Thank you very much Will 👍☺️
The course was very informative and very well presented by Cameron. It was great to have the hands on experience to practise areas that were discussed.
Great course, the focus on the practical really helped to embed the theory.
Dave was excellent. Clear, thorough and good humoured. There was a great amount of practice and repetition which really helped to solidify the learning.
Delivered by a very engaging practitioner made the day fun as well as informative .
The course was extremely detailed and comprehensive, very useful and recommend to everyone because a small gesture can save lives!
5+ stars to Isa, our instructor, who was clear, careful and extremely prepared to reply to all the questions and explain all the cases.
5+ stars to Isa, our instructor, who was clear, careful and extremely prepared to reply to all the questions and explain all the cases.
Great first aid training. The instructor was knowledgeable and made a very important training session fun, whilst instructing the team to administer emergency first aid.
Great course, very informative and I feel very competent now. Sam was amazing
Great content, Sam was lovely and really engaging
Extremely relevant and up to date training. Very good visual presentations and easily understandable instruction. Mixture of PowerPoint and practical hands on. Group activity's, individual and pairs. Mixture of equipment including dummies, defibrillator machines and epipens. Professional training but with good humour that helps maximise engagement.
A good, practical approach to first aid. Building up on procedures and repeating to embed. Lots of different scenarios acted out.
This was a very informative training. Dave was very knowledgeable and made the sessions fun. It was helpful to have so much hands on scenarios!
An enjoyable and informative 2 day First Aid course. Thank you Dave.
First aid training went really well on a two day course, learned a lot of new information.
Was absolutely amazing trainer Dave was so good very informative learned a lot over the last 2 full days
Dave was absolutely amazing. He made the training fun and engaging, and the time flew by. I learnt a lot in a short period of time without feeling overwhelmed, and I definitely feel more confident in my first aid abilities. I would recommend this course to everyone; thank you, Dave!
Dave was very patient, fun and engaging during our session today. The team feel much more confident in First Aid❤️
Love Team Trav xx
Love Team Trav xx
Susie was a fantastic trainer and managed the course and different levels of experience in the room perfectly. She made the training impactful, safe, down to earth and fun (even the unpleasant bits). Would recommend to anyone!
Great course on Mental Health. Very informative & well delivered.
A great day's course. Molly was both informative and entertaining
I have been enlighten to facts and symptoms that I wasn't aware of until this course thank you.
Opened my eyes up to things I thought I knew but didn't and was great to get a full idea of what mental health is
First time attending a first aid course. It was interactive, engaging and very informative. Learned so much. Great! Thanks for Isa.
Wonderful course and well led by Suzie! Feel much more confident about First Aid now. Thank you!
Very clear and well organised.
Super day and well presented!
Informative course with helpful info to prepare you for an emergency situation.
Great upbeat day with good detail
I had a fun informative weekend on the Outdoor First Aid course. I feel really equipped to run outdoor therapy sessions now. Putting us into suprise scenarios outside ment we really had to assess the situation more carefully than being presented with a known situation in a classroom. I recommend the course to everyone!
Brilliant training. Really informative. Great teacher too!
Excellent training. Suzie was brilliant, very clear and engaging.
Really enjoyable and some very valuable information.
Excellent course and delivery. Perfectly tailored to our group's needs.
Two days intensive First Aid for the outdoors. Relevant, well paced, engaging. Hats off to Susie, the trainer. It was not just challenging for the group to take it all in, but for her to keep us involved and engaged and make it personal, was a marathon in itself. Highly recommended.
I did a 2-day Outdoor First Aid course recently. I learnt so much and I would definitely recommend the First Aid Training Co-operative to everyone. Sam was an excellent instructor, she had so much enthusiasm and experience which made the course really fly-by!
Great trainer, engaging & effective learning methods.
Great, informative course. Lots covered and fab instructors.
Really usefull scenarios to build practical experience and confidence in your skills
Great workshop and learning experience. Thank you
Suzie was a really engaging teacher. I had fun & felt like I learnt a lot. She kept us interested and was really down to earth.
Suzie did this course in a way that was simple and effective. The laid back method of tasting and demo was great!
Absolutely fantastic Outdoor First Aid course. Will was brilliant at delivering it in an engaging and hands on way. Hope to never have to use it but I feel confident that I have been equipped with essential skills to deal with a wide range of emergency situations. Thank you for a great two-day course! I highly recommend this for anyone working or taking part in leisure activities, outdoors.
Great course and trainer, looking forward to seeing them again in 3 years!
Excellent course with extremely knowledgeable and helpful presenters. Would definitely recommend.
10/10 would deffo recommend everyone doing it, molly was amazing
Very informative and engaging course, left me feeling confident in first aid!
A really effective outdoor first aid course, led by two very experienced instructors, who were also very effectively communicators of that experience. Recommended.
Having attended many courses over the years with the First Aid training co- operative, I am continually impressed with the skills and level of knowledge from the fantastic trainers. Courses are delivered professionally and at the right pace for each individual learner. I would highly recommend this training co operative to everyone.
Fantastic training. Both Mike and Isa were great at shearing their knowledge keeping a good level of theory and practice.
Great course, Suzie did so well and give so much knowledge! Thank you!
Really good first aid course combining practical and theory based learning. Very well delivered.
The course was brilliant, lots of practical scenarios and hands on practise. Steve and Susie were extremely knowledgeable and full of humour in an area that isn’t always fun to deal with. Learned a lot from practising over and over again!
Really good course to refresh skills and knowledge. Plenty of scenarios discussed along the way and lots of practicals too. Fabulous engaging trainer.
So lovely to have a course with more of an equestrian theme than standard courses.
So lovely to have a course with more of an equestrian theme than standard courses.
Professional and well resourced. Liked that the session was minimal pressure and trainer was engaging and approachable.
Very informative and fun first aid course.
Thanks very much Molly.Brilliant day
Interesting, thought provoking and useful which was well presented
Amazingand upto date course.
Thank you Suzie and Ingrid
Thank you Suzie and Ingrid
Straight to the point. Loads of practice.