This content was prepared by Hato Hone St John and is being published by NZME as advertorial.
Hato Hone St John is committed to improving the health outcomes of all New Zealanders and has taken steps to help de-stigmatise the conversation around mental health and wellbeing.
As one of New Zealand's most trusted organisations, and the largest provider of first aid training, they wanted to build on their training expertise by creating Mental Health First Aid Courses.
Simon Barnett, Head of Hato Hone St John First Aid Training, says the provision of mental health first aid aims to facilitate open conversations early and highlight agencies and support services that can help prevent people from reaching a crisis point.
"When someone walks in with an arm in a sling or on crutches, most of us naturally ask: 'What happened? How can I help?'" he says. "When the struggle is not visible, despite it having no less impact, a whole range of social, environmental and personal factors kick in that actively work against us wanting to reach out.
"It's the moment we most need to communicate but also the very time we find it most difficult. We can all step up to help the one in six New Zealand adults who face a mental health challenge each year and the St John Mental Health First Aid course helps to bridge a gap."
The purpose of the course is to reduce the stigma of talking about mental health and providing New Zealanders with important tools to enable them to recognise and respond to individuals experiencing mental health concerns. St John Mental Health First Aid has been carefully designed for the New Zealand context, drawing on trusted international and local best practice resources and research.
Due diligence, peer review and customer scrutiny were followed by a three-month pilot when it launched in 2018. Participants are taught how to understand the signs that someone may be struggling, how to talk to them, helpful things they can say and do, and how to support individuals in seeking help.
Hato Hone St John has since launched an online version of the course and an online Refresher+ course offering people a flexible learning option where the course can be completed online at their own convenience.
The Refresher+ course is designed to refresh mental health first aid knowledge for those who completed the initial course over a year ago. Some new topics are also covered, and the course has the same aim as the initial course: to provide participants with the tools to build their own mental health fitness, the skills to recognise mental distress and the confidence to provide initial help and guide a person towards professional help.
For more information on the St John Mental Health First Aid Courses: www.stjohn.org.nz/mentalhealth