In light of the Coronavirus crisis and subsequent lockdown, the figures around the number of people experiencing poor mental health has increased from one in four to one in three.
To remedy the immediate and long-term needs of the nation and combat the startling new statistics, Newark-based mental health and wellbeing charity Shaw Mind has launched a series of online interactive mental health training courses with its professional partners.
These courses are aimed at different sections of society from individuals, parents, teachers and children to employees, HR teams and line-managers, and will equip attendees with a better understanding of a range of mental health disorders, how to spot the signs and how to access or provide basic support for themselves or others.
Delivered by qualified and experienced mental health and wellbeing professionals, Shaw Mind’s interactive online Mental Health training sessions are being offered to organisations and individuals for £25 per person per hour – a fraction of the estimated cost of mental health related losses per person within UK businesses each year, which currently stands at approximately £1,700.
Peter Wingrove, Operations Director at Shaw Mind, said: “Our charity has been providing resources and support to people experiencing poor mental health for the last four years, but more recently we have been looking at ways we can make a very real impact nationally and we believe we will achieve that through this mental health training.
“We have already seen a huge shift in the mental health of the nation following the lockdown and more and more businesses, schools and other organisations have come to us to ask for our advice on how they can best support their teams, many of whom are struggling.
“I’m absolutely delighted that we are able to provide this thorough training, which will help bolster the resilience of all those who attend and help businesses and communities provide a more inclusive support system to society as a whole.”
The four hour Basics of Mental Health Support course will be led by Samantha Kendall, Director of SK First Aid Training. Samantha is a highly qualified front-line emergency ambulance medic with seven years’ experience dealing with 999 emergency incidents.
Samantha is a qualified Mental Health First Aid England tutor and her sessions are packed with first-hand experience and easy to follow guidelines for beginners and those needing refresher training.
Meanwhile the six hour Mindfulness course will be led by experienced mindfulness teacher, facilitator and coach, Ann Russell from Our Minds at Work, in a sensitive and yet lively and enlightening way which involves humour, stories and examples. There will be short videos, online white board activities and small group breakout sessions throughout.
Ann is also delivering our Mindful Approach to Personal Resilience Programme, which follows on from the Mindfulness course.
And finally, Tana Macpherson-Smith, Founder of ClearMinds Education Ltd, an organisation dedicated to enhancing the emotional and mental health and wellbeing of children and teenagers will lead on our parent, teacher and child sessions.
Tana, a mental health trainer; Child, Adolescent and Parent Coach and NLP Practitioner; a Psy-Tap Practitioner; holistic therapist; motivational speaker and former teacher, will take the lead in our introductory one-hour Mental Health and Wellbeing Workshop for Parents of Teenagers and Mental Health and Wellbeing Workshop for Parents of Younger Children.
She will also run our survival guide for parents (of 0-12year olds) and teenagers and specialist Monkey Wisdom: From Fearful to Fabulous (for teenage girls) and Monkey Wisdom: From Fearful to Fearsome (for teenage boys), all of which call for an hour of participation over six weeks.
All courses are split into 60-minute live sessions to ensure everyone is able to participate.
To find out more about the different courses and to secure your place visit www.shawmind.org/product-category/live-events/olt
To find out more about the charity visit www.shawmind.org or to see regular updates follow Shaw Mind on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
