Introduction

The MHA course concentrates on identifying the most common mental health disorders. The focus is on helping delegates distinguish both the signs and symptoms of mental health behaviours. The course offers a comprehensive understanding of how to best support employees who suffer mental health conditions with practical advice from a professionally trained course leader with years of experience working in the mental health field. The MHA course is designed specifically to empower managers with information on the statutory limits, obligations and liabilities as expressed in the Equality Act 2010 and how to remain within managerial compliance.

Course Objectives

• To empower managers, supervisors and team leaders with the ability to more effectively manage someone who may be suffering from a mental health condition, whether diagnosed or undiagnosed.
• To support other team members in managing their behaviour when one of their colleagues may be displaying difficult-to-manage, challenging, or even threatening behaviours that are associated with a mental health condition.

Background

Organisations sometimes lose the skills and experience of capable employees who are managed ineffectively because of a lack of awareness of how to manage employees with a mental health condition.
When mental health is involved, employees can often feel they have no choice but to choose between a deteriorating mental health condition or leaving their job. Employers have a duty of extending care to their employees, and investment in the mental health of a workforce must be embedded in the core of the business.

When faced with challenging behaviour from someone with a confirmed or suspected mental health condition, a common question posed by managers is, “Is it challenging behaviour or a mental health condition?” Although there is no hard and fast rule, one of the ways to deal with this is to make managers aware that most mental health conditions are episodic and during the episodes behaviours may become disruptive and challenging.

Managers need to learn what “baseline behaviours” are and how to recognise them in the people they work with. As managers tend to know those they manage fairly well, this is not difficult once they know what they are looking for. This will help managers distinguish between behaviours associated with a mental health disorder when the individual concerned is having an episode, and “normal” challenging and disruptive behaviour within the workplace.

Key Benefits

• Understand the stigma that surrounds mental health in the workplace
• Increase awareness of delegates’ own attitudes to mental health and illness
• Improve understanding of the way stress impacts on mental health in the workplace
• Recognise and understand some of the most common signs and symptoms of mental health conditions
• Acquire the confidence to deal with clients or colleagues who may be experiencing mental health problems
• Apply a range of techniques to manage someone with a mental health condition
• Understand their legal requirements within the Equality Act 2010

Training Style

Training is delivered in a relaxed and flexible manner with plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion. Practical exercises will be used to illustrate the challenges those with a mental health condition regularly face in the workplace.

Who is it for

• Anyone working in a team environment
• Anyone whose role involves a requirement to be aware of the Equality Act 2010 and its impact on employees with mental health issues

Key Content

• Raising Awareness of Stress and Mental Health Conditions
• Types of Mental Health Illnesses and Conditions
• Mental Health and the Law
• Key Skills and Techniques for Managers Managing Mental Health Related Issues
• Personal Action Planning
• View more detailed course content here