The St John Mental Health First Aid course which was run in Foxton, in conjunction with the Horowhenua District Council - photo supplied.
The St John Mental Health First Aid course which was run in Foxton, in conjunction with the Horowhenua District Council - photo supplied.
While most New Zealanders are comfortable discussing physical health, the stigma of talking about mental health remains.
In August 2018 St John launched its Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training course to help reduce that gap, recognising the need for people to step up to help the one in five Kiwis facing a mental health challenge each year.
Gabrielle Wildbore, St John National programme and development manager, said the organisation piloted the course with a number of their trusted partners, and grew its uptake by others through word of mouth about the quality of that initial experience.
"[We have] delivered the Mental Health First Aid course to participants across a wide section of industries and organisations," she said.
St John Mental Health First Aid course facilitator Katherine Gillespie sharing information on how to recognise when someone is having a mental health crisis. Photo /Supplied
With the impact of Covid-19 on face-to-face delivery of the course during 2020, the St John First Aid Training team worked quickly to adapt the existing MHFA course for online delivery.
At the time Wildbore said the new online course was made up of easy-to-consume modules, containing the same high-quality content as the classroom-based course.
In the past two years St John has trained around 9000 participants across both the online and face-to-face mental health first aid courses.
"The numbers are staggering, and indicative of the intense appetite to grow knowledge and skills in this space," said Wildbore.
Horowhenua District Council's community development team recognised this need after discussions with local groups, and reached out to St John to arrange a face-to-face course to be run in Foxton.
Intense focus from members of Kapiti and Horowhenua Menz Shed during the St John Mental Health First Aid course run in conjunction with HDC in October - photo supplied.
Kim Stewart, community development adviser with HDC, said, "[the local] Menz Shed groups had mentioned that some of their members seemed to be struggling more [with their mental health] post the 2021 lockdown."
She believed the recent vaccine debate and the fact the world was still pretty much closed off to New Zealand also exacerbated how the Menz Shed members were feeling.
"These groups are mostly made up of men who have retired and they are often already struggling with their change in role, from sole provider and career-focused men, to trying to fill their days," Stewart said.
The one-day Mental Health First Aid course was restricted to a maximum of 20 participants and entry was offered to Levin, Kāpiti and Foxton Menz Shed members.
Wildbore said the MHFA course is designed for people who want to learn more about overall health and wellbeing, how to safely have conversations about mental health with those they care about, and where to go for expert help.
"St John does not train people to become counsellors or therapists," said Wildbore, "the focus of the course is on understanding our own mental health, recognising the signs of distress in others, and [offering] practical skills to engage and provide help."
Stewart said that so far, the participants' feedback regarding the MHFA course had been 100 per cent happy and many said they would be recommending it to other groups they were part of.
To find out more and to make a booking, visit stjohn.org.nz/mentalhealth.
