Richmond Institute is proudly partnering with Mental Health First Aid Australia to deliver Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to schools, communities, and workplaces across Australia.
On July 12, David Bastian and Damien Villarosa from Richmond Institute delivered the Mental Health First Aid course to teachers from Victory Lutheran College in West Wodonga.
The day was an incredible success, with 91 staff completing the course.
Joel Klemke, Acting Director of Wellbeing at Victory Lutheran College highlighted how important it is for staff to be trained to support teens who may be experiencing mental health problems.
“We pride ourselves on providing a supporting community to our students, staff, parents and the wider community,” he said.
“To further support all the various stakeholders that we encounter, we felt it was important to collaboratively develop greater knowledge and awareness around mental health and support our staff in completing Mental Health First Aid Australia training with Richmond Institute”.
Schools can be an amazing source of support for teens and their families, but they can often be a source of strain or stress, and it is often in schools where symptoms of mental health problems are first identified.
David Bastian, the Senior Education Manager at Richmond Football Club emphasises the importance of undertaking training to increase confidence in providing mental health first aid and decreasing stigmatising attitudes.
“Richmond has a global view of health that recognises the importance of good physical and mental health, so for us prioritising mental health is key to our health and wellbeing strategy” says David.
“We also understand the impact recent events have had on communities, and what that can lead to from a wellbeing perspective.
“We commonly hear that people want to approach and help family, friends, colleagues and team mates, and we love that Mental Health First Aid Australia programs teaches participants the skills and ability to make these thoughtful approaches to start a conversation.
“We have found that mental health first aid training has had a huge impact in helping breaking down barriers, building connected relationships, and giving people the confidence to have supportive conversations”.
It is important for schools to create a healthy community where whole school communities where staff, students and their families all feel supported.
When asked about the training upon completion, it was evident that participants felt more confident to approach and support those who may be struggling.
“The training was very informative, including great instructors that supported quality discussion, leaving staff feeling confident about how to approach a variety of situations that could arise” says Joel.
“We would highly recommend such a course for any organisation and individual.
“We thank Richmond Institute and Mental Health First Aid Australia for playing a significant part in supporting the wellbeing of our nation”.
If you are interested in participating in a Mental Health First Aid course or would like to enquire about a group booking, please fill out the form here.
