Adult Mental Health First Aider course – Participant Feedback

“I really appreciated being able to attend the MHFA course and enjoyed the way it was presented.  Initially I wondered how I might apply the process in real life. I used to be a Physical First Aider, but the people who needed help were usually easier to spot. However, someone with mental health issues are another thing.

But this course opened my eyes and ears. I found myself actively listening to replies to questions like “How are you?”.

A friend whose husband died unexpectedly was sat with some other women. I asked the question and she said she felt there was reason to go on. I asked how she felt and some of the others picked up on it and started talking to her about it. Usually nothing is said but it opened up the option to talk.  I rang her a few days later and she thanked me.

After attending the first two sessions, I was talking to a friend who when I asked how he was, he took too long to answer, and I recognised by the delay and the body language that some thing was up. Turns out he was really worried has his wife had been told a cancer which for twenty eight years had been in remission had returned.

Then another friend who had never talked to me at length talked to me about his wife who had health problems and he was really worried. I believe that had I not have been on the course, I would not have recognised the signs. And why did he feel able to talk to me about it?

It wasn’t a mental health issue but could very well develop into one if things don’t improve. I hope that things do improve for them and I will try and be there for them.

I suppose when I signed up for the training I was a bit sceptical, but for me it really opened my ears and eyes.”

Brian from Bradford