In 2024, a group of clergy and laity were invited to take part in a mental health first aid training course, provided by YANA.
In the same way that workplaces have physical first aiders, YANA believes that having Mental Health first aiders can play a pivotal role in helping to promote positive mental health and also to prevent people from experiencing worsening mental health.
Revd Joshua Whitnall, Assistant Curate of the Harling and Guiltcross group of churches in the southern part of Breckland took part in the accredited course.
Revd Joshua explains more about the training:
“The MHFA training offered an invaluable time to stop and think about the challenges mental ill health can cause. It explored specific, diagnosed, conditions – but also the effects mental health can have in people’s lives more generally. I gained a greater understanding of how to support people suffering from mental ill health, and most importantly a wide bank of invaluable signposting to offer anyone who is in need of further support and help.”