The latest research by the UK mental health charity Young Minds found that record levels of young people under the age of 18 are struggling with poor mental health and that these needs are not supported early enough; often only when they have reached crisis point. The report estimated that 3.5 million children and young people aged 6 to 23 in England have a probable or possible mental health disorder. Nearly half of the young people surveyed had experienced negative emotions which affected their everyday life. (Young Minds Impact Report 2022.)
Youth Mental Health First Aid training gives participants the skills and confidence to recognise the signs of mental health issues in a young person at an early stage and to offer first aid and support which can speed up the young person’s recovery and stop a mental health issue getting worse.
In the last four years, Services for Young People (SfYP) has trained 65 SfYP staff and 77 young people to be Youth Mental Health First Aiders and Champions. The online course is an essential part of SfYP staff training and enables practitioners to help the young people they are working with who may be at risk of, or are living with, poor mental health.
Feedback from young people attending recent courses:
“I learnt so much and learnt about so many aspects of mental health. I also picked up some techniques to help my own mental health. It’s a really good course and more people should do it so that we can remove the stigma surrounding mental health.”
“It's very interesting and helpful. I now have a greater understanding, and will hopefully be aware of warning signs, so that I can help people to get the right support.”
Feedback from SfYP staff:
“I found this course really interesting and learnt a lot about different mental health issues. The resource pack and different discussions during the training helped me to feel more confident about how to discuss the different issues with young people in the future”.
“The instructor was brilliant. Clearly knows their stuff and so engaging that the difficult subjects explored were understood easily”.
Find out more about the support SfYP offer young people with their physical health, emotional wellbeing and mental health here:
