Mental health first aid training to become mandatory?

Although the purpose of MHFA training is not to counsel, if you can’t signpost, what are you supposed to do as a compassionate person when someone has approached you as the designated mental health first aider? GP referrals for counselling can take in excess of 12 weeks, and we’ve seen them quietly forgotten about too.

Level 1 awareness training is a great idea to help address workplace stigmas around mental health. However, allocating a role to an individual at Level 2, especially in small teams, could become a huge burden to that individual, who’d end up being a source of support for all their colleagues. This feels like a poorly thought out law with large corporations in mind, not recognising that 95% of the businesses in the U.K are micro businesses that don’t have appropriate structures to accommodate these suggestions.

It’s more a “look we are doing something” move by the government, than a consulted, considered decision.

MHFA has its place, it’s been updated so is better than it was, yet on its own it’s value is minimal and can actually be detrimental if it isn’t part of a wider wellbeing strategy.

The quality of delivery of MHFA varies, from great to poor, and wellbeing at work is everyone’s responsibility, and all too often, the trained MHFA are expected to shoulder the psychological distress of others, and rarely have any support themselves.

As part of a robust wellbeing strategy, MHFA would be one of the last, added value things you would bring in, like a cherry on the cake. What the government is proposing is that your business might be a turd, but if you put a cherry on top legally, you’re doing the right thing.

"Talking freely and safely without fear of judgement can be transformational for people's well-being so I support people being able to access this at work. However, some of the concerns for mental health difficulties being handled by unqualified, unsupervised staff with less risk management and planning experience is that it could actually be detrimental to the longer-term outcomes for clients. It seems that MHFA training is an excellent addition to the mental health sphere, but it cannot be a substitute, stopgap or long-term alternative to people being able to access timely, evidence-based, effective mental health treatment and support."

You might as well have mandatory training for making chocolate teapots. Training alone will do little to improve mental or emotional well-being. It is the implementation and culture that are important.

This is another tick box exercise to enable the government to puff out their chests and say "look at me, didn't I do well"

Wellness is good for people - and great for business - so not a bad idea. BUT without proper support, First Aiders can themselves start to suffer. 35 years as a psychologist and I still have professional supervision and peer support. All my colleagues do. One of the most difficult things for willing people who "want to help" is not being able to really help. Sign-posting to a waiting list just doesn't feel enough. So people try harder and harder and experience the pressure of both helping or failing. Will companies pay for proper pychological support after training? Likely to be assigned to an internal, unsupported HR professional. And if people take on the roles less than willingly because the company is forced to comply? Recipe for disaster. Companies are responsible for their toxic cultures and s*** role models, better to start there.

I have significant concerns about this proposal. A 2019 Health and Safety Executive report concluded, "There is no evidence that the introduction of MHFA training in workplaces has resulted in sustained actions in those trained, or that it has improved the wider management of mental ill-health". There remains a lack of robust evidence showing that MHFA alleviates mental health difficulties in the workplace.

In addition, MHFA is a reactive intervention that does not address the causes of stress and mental ill health in the workplace. It is a sticking plaster for problems that desperately need preventative solutions. MHFA could even be creating more mental health issues since few organisations have clear systems of support or supervision in place for staff in MHFA roles, leaving them vulnerable to emotional distress.

As with many government initiatives, good intentions but likely destined for a poor outcome, becoming little more than a meaningless tick-box exercise.

Legislation for compliance does not equate to changes in behaviour. Equal pay legislation is 50 years old, and some employers still grapple with that.

Mental health provision needs to look more broadly and holistically - job design, resources to do the job, flexibility, organisational culture, psychological safety, management style and wellbeing initiatives- as part of a broader well-being strategy.

The holy grail is a company culture that reduces stigma so that individuals feel comfortable talking in the first place. It starts at the top. All the MHFA training in the world won’t help unless people feel safe speaking”.

MHFA training, delivered effectively, can be an integral part of an organisation's overall health and wellbeing strategy and signals to employees that mental health is taken seriously.

Some view MHFA training as a sticking plaster, too little too late. There are many reasons why people's mental health can become poor so there will always be the need to recognise the signs and offer support. MHFA training can help with that and is most effective when the overall company culture and health and wellbeing strategy views mental health as a workplace issue with a focus on prevention, led from the top and zero tolerance for stigma and discrimination.

Raising awareness of mental health amongst staff and training managers to support wellbeing and manage performance should form part of an organisation's training offering.

Mental health is a rising concern amongst workers and discussion on the topic in employee reviews on Glassdoor increased across all industries and jobs in 2022. To keep attracting and retaining talent, HR teams need to focus equally on the physical and mental health of their workers. Without effective support, poor mental health can impact a worker's productivity and ultimately the company's bottom line. It costs nothing for businesses to install a transparent work culture in which employees can talk about their feelings as and when needed.

The impact is huge - hugely positive.
Peer support can decrease symptoms associated with burnout and stress but there are "several challenges to consider" when implementing (Wellcome Trust 2021). Research by Ripple&Co when developing their innovative digital support tool found that the role attracts a high percentage of people (78%) with their own experience of mental ill health making them effective in this role yet vulnerable to being triggered. 33% said their mental health has been negatively impacted by the role. In some companies, this was as high as 54%.
77% said they would access further support if it were offered. For some companies, this was as high as 93%.
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater though. It's time for version 2.0 of workplace Mental Health First Aiders.