Would you know how to help?
Let’s start with the statistics. One in ten young people experience a mental health issue at any one time. For those aged 5-19 suicide is the second most common cause of death, and a record number of children contacted Childline with suicidal thoughts in 2016/17.
In an average group of 30 15-year-olds:
Seven are likely to have been bullied
Six may be self-harming
One could have experienced the death of a parent
Record levels of young people are struggling. Academic pressure, social media, bullying, poverty, lack of availability of professional mental health support – all have been named as contributing to this epidemic of poor mental health in our young people.
It’s clear that young people are not getting the support they need. Key figures in a young person’s life – parents, family members, teachers, tutors, carers, youth workers – can often spot when a young person is struggling but may not know how best to help. Learn to support young people
TALKING TIPS
The Tower Hamlets Offer
Funding from The London Mayor’s Fund has enabled us to work in partnership with THRIVE London to support all schools, colleges and 6th form institutions and other CYP providers in Tower Hamlets to access fully funded Youth MHFA training course that will enable access to at least one Mental Health First Aider to support Children and Young People. We are also opening up limited number of places for local youth services and children’s centres.
What does the the course offer?
Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses are for everyone who works with, lives with or supports young people aged 8-18. They will teach you the skills and confidence to spot the signs of mental health issues in a young person, offer first aid and guide them towards the support they need. In doing so, you can speed up a young person’s recovery and stop a mental health issue from getting worse.
The courses won’t teach you to be a therapist, but we will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis – and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.
But more than that, we aim to give you the information and skills to look after your own mental health so that you can set an example for young people. By giving you the tools to have these conversations, we hope to empower you to create a mentally healthy, supportive environment in your family, school, peer group or community.
Let’s create a future where mental health is treated as a normal part of life, in the same way as physical health. A future where every young person has access to support if they need it.
This full course qualifies you as a Youth Mental Health First Aider, giving you:
An in-depth understanding of young people’s mental health and factors that affect wellbeing
Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental health issues
- Confidence to reassure and support a young person in distress
Enhanced interpersonal skills such as non-judgemental listening
Knowledge to help a young person recover their health by guiding them to further support – whether that’s through self-help sites, their place of learning, the NHS, or a mix – engaging with parents, carers and external agencies where appropriate
Ability to support a young person with a long term mental health issue or disability to thrive
Tools to look after your own mental wellbeing
How do I book?
Courses are delivered online via 4 bitesize learning sessions over 2 weeks. You will be required to provide a delivery address for the learning materials to be shipped to. You will need to have a working microphone and camera on the day. This is an interactive course and requires full participation from group. Delegates are required to pay a £20 deposit for the work manuals. Deposit will be refunded on completion of the course.
It is envisaged that individual staff members book on the courses themselves as the application form requires them to state their learning aim from the training. Below are dates available for the course, all the courses are run across 2 weeks. Click on the date to register your place:
Click the link below to register:
**IF FULLY BOOKED, PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TO THE WAITING LIST*
PAPYRUS - PREVENTION OF YOUNG SUICIDE
