There’s often a misconception that mental health training consists of understanding the theory behind various mental health conditions. However, how staff behave in practice, in their day-to-day work with colleagues, is far more important.
Spotting Warning Signs Earlier
Early intervention is key to managing mental health issues and the evidence is clear that earlier intervention leads to better outcomes. As a result, trained staff do things differently by spotting the early warning signs of mental health issues and taking action at the earliest signs of deterioration.
Asking Better Check-In Questions
Rather than asking the same old question “Are you okay?” and receiving the normal response of “Fine thanks” , staff start to ask more specific and open questions. “You seem quieter than normal today, would you like to have a 5 minute chat?” This changes the way in which someone can answer the original question. See also Mental Health Training Courses.
Knowing When to Refer On
Behavioural change: Staff are able to know when their role finishes in helping a colleague with their mental health issues and signpost them to relevant services (e.g. employee assistance programs and their GP).
Holding Difficult Conversations Safely
These staff members know how to safely close a conversation that is becoming distressing. Rather than closing down on the individual or allowing the conversation to run amok, they may say “I want to continue this conversation, would it be okay to discuss tomorrow with more time to discuss this?”
Acting Instead of Waiting
The biggest impact is a change in behaviour of staff members. They no longer wait for the line manager to step in, they act themselves as they have confidence in their own ability to do so.
