Frequently Asked Questions
Please find below commonly asked questions by our clients and community. If you have more detailed questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
If you are joining a course, please read your joining instructions thoroughly. You will find the most important details and things to prepare for your training are highlighted in a yellow box there.
If you don’t find what you are looking for in your joining instructions or on this page below, please use the ‘contact us’ button. We look forward to hearing from you and answering your question.
The Mental Health First Aider course covers the following:
- How to recognise someone may be experiencing poor mental health and provide them with first-level support and early intervention
- Encourage a person to identify and access sources of professional help and other support
- Practise active listening and empathy
- Have a conversation with improved mental health literacy around language and stigma
- Discuss the MHFAider® role in depth, including boundaries and confidentiality
- Practise self-care
- Know how to use the MHFAider Support App®
- Know how to access a dedicated text service provided by Shout and ongoing learning opportunities with MHFA England
You need to complete a Mental Health First Aider course.
You can complete the course as an individual on one of Andy’s public courses or through your organisation. Please get in touch if you would like to book a group course for your organization here.
Yes. Virtual MHFA training came into being during lockdowns and is still a large part of Andy’s delivery of this vital training. All of the MHFA courses, including Mental Health Skills for Manager and the Refresher can be completed online.
Figures from ONS, WHO, CIPD that poor mental health causes absence and low productivity and costs business a lot of money.
It is important to empower your people to bring their best selves to work so that they feel happier and contribute more to their role and team performance.
Most people are well most of the time and when they are enabled to support and encourage those around them to move through difficult periods and challenging life events or health concerns they can really make the difference.
Giving your people the tools and confidence to help themselves and others can help support more people in your organisation. An early intervention has a better outcome, and individuals connect with others at a human level to find hope and a better way forward.
The good news is that when more people connect like this, a lot of issues e.g. low staff satisfaction, seem to improve, more people speak up with questions, suggestions and individuals start to see more similarities than differences between each other.
There are many benefits to MHFA training for both the individual and for the workplace, these include:
- Equitable workplace
- Staff retention
- Reduced absence
- Better performance
- Inclusive culture
- Satisfied staff
The course can either be done face to face or online: 2 days face-to-face training or 4 x half day sessions online (total 14 hours).
£325+VAT per person for individuals
£4875+VAT for private course (up to 16 learners)
Yes Andy does run public course – the next public course can be booked here.
If these dates don’t work for you, please contact us to be added to the waitlist.
Yes – please get in touch via the contact form to discuss booking a course for your organisation.
£150+ VAT for individuals
£2,400+VAT for private course (up to 16 learners)
Yes Andy runs public refresher courses throughout the year.
The next public courses can be booked here.
Yes – please get in touch via the contact form to discuss booking a course for your organisation.
4 hours.
The refresher course is normally run online.
£2,400 + VAT for 16 learners.
Yes, Andy occasionally does run a public Mental Health Skills for Managers course. There isn’t one coming up, if this is of interest, you can contact us to be added to the waitlist.
Yes – please get in touch via the contact form to discuss booking a course for your organisation.
When learners complete the MHFA course they receive a certificate which lasts for 3 years. MHFA England recommend doing some continuous learning at least annually through their monthly newsletters, free quarterly webinars and after 3 years a formal MHFA Refresher course with an instructor is required. This is 4 hours in duration and costs £150 + VAT. The learner will be certified for another 3 years on completion of their refresher training with an accredited instructor.
Please contact Andy as soon as possible on chinwag@andyelwood.com – we will do our best to get you rebooked onto a new course.
Yes – to be eligible a learner must have a Mental Health First Aid Qualification that as a minimum meets the following criteria:
- Qualification must be in the practice of Mental Health First Aid and carrying out the role of a Mental Health First Aider
- Qualification certificate is dated within 3 years
- Qualification must be at least at Level 3 or above and awarded by a Nationally recognised body such as OfQual or FutureQuals
- Qualification has followed guided learning by an Instructor or Tutor that meets professional training standards
- Qualification has followed guided learning and study time that totals at least 14 hours or more
Learners have up to 6 months after their certificate has expired to complete an MHFA Refresher course. If your certificate is more than 6 months out of date, you will need to recomplete the full course.
Firstly cross check that you are using the same email that you original registered for the course with. If you are still having problems logging in please email: info@mhfaengland.org.
This is via the online learning hub. Please refer to the yellow box in the joining instructions – there will be a unique registration link for your course.
Once registered, you can find it in the “my learning space” section under “MHFA course manual”.
Yes.