Kerry's Story: 25 Lancashire Minds

Kerry’s Story

Supporting the supporters: The power of Mental Health First Aid in volunteer roles

Kerry Cossens, Volunteer Coordinator for Blackpool Carers talks through the impact Lancashire Mind’s Mental Health First Aid training had on both her and her role, supporting those who volunteer for the charity.

“Many people who volunteer with our organisations have lived experience that they want to use to help others. Whilst they are keen to give their time to support our service and unpaid carers in the community it is important that we continue to understand the demands this places on them and the impact that caring has on their own wellbeing.”

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a course that teaches people to recognise the signs of mental health conditions, provide initial support and guide individuals toward professional help. Similar to physical first aid, it provides crucial ‘first response’ skills focusing on listening, reassuring and understanding the situation.

“The course I attended included both adult carers and young carers from the age of 16. This highlighted the changes in attitudes to mental health, the words used and the willingness to be open about lived experiences. Karen, our trainer, encouraged open but respectful conversations. She repeated the option to leave the room at any point, and this gave people who had been obviously anxious at the beginning, the confidence to express themselves in their own words. It was interesting to reflect on the confident manner that young adult carers could explain their own needs as well as acknowledge the needs of those that they care for.”

“The mix of age groups in the session demonstrated the benefits of carer’s coming together with differing life experiences, particularly when people were happy to share how they had made decisions in their life and the impact that mental illness has had on both them and their friends or families over many years.”

“The training gave everyone who attended the opportunity to step outside of their professional or caring role and listen to each other’s concerns, experiences and reflect on the impact that mental health has on everyone’s lives. From those who have no lived experience, to those who help family and friends on a daily basis we were all able to share, learn and create understanding together.”

“Karen delivered the session with care and consideration both for the subject and for the role that carer’s have in supporting those with poor mental health. Despite the many years that Karen has worked in the field and the number of times she must have delivered the course content – she spoke with passion and conviction, and kept the pace of training engaging, whilst taking time for the sections that people found either interesting or more challenging.”

“The training gave us an awareness of many different aspects of mental health, including the impact on an individual to the impact on the workplace. Some of the course may have been challenging but it encourages people to be open and ask for help. I’m so glad that we had the opportunity to access this course.”

If you, your business or organisation value the mental health and wellbeing of your teams, please get in touch for more details on our workplace wellbeing training.

Workplace Wellbeing & Training