Mental Health for Managers

Overview

This session is designed to raise awareness of mental health, common disorders and how to have confident conversations to help support and help improve colleagues’ mental wealth. It will be designed and run using trauma informed practice to ensure personal and psychological safety. It builds on the truth that we all have mental health and aims to put it on the same level as physical health as they are interconnected and affect each other equally. This course will build confidence in spotting early warning signs and symptoms and reframes thinking about having a ‘difficult’ conversation into feeling great that you can have a conversation to really help a colleague. It will break the stages of spotting signs, planning the approach, opening the conversation, what language to use, what not to say, open, supportive body language, the role of empathy, what questions to ask and how to ask them. It will cover what to do with the information gained positively and without fear or apprehension. What signposting to appropriate professional help or other supports is. What do I do then? Do I just walk away or monitor, where are the boundaries as a manager? How do I balance performance and wellbeing? The course will also look at a manager’s responsibilities under legislation including the Equality Act 2010. Case studies will be used to look at what has happened when cases are ignored and when they are professionally handled. Studies will include return to work, hidden, escalation of behaviours, trauma. Simulations will also be used to see, hear and feel the conversations, how to handle traumatic conversations and ensure personal safety and safeguarding for all involved.

Who is Mental Health for Managers aimed at?

Managers and Supervisors

Course Length

a full or a half day

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course delegates will have:- 

• An understanding of what mental health is and how to challenge stigma
• Knowledge of some common mental health issues
• Knowledge of managers responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010
• Setting and managing boundaries for self and others
• Confidence to support someone in distress or who may be experiencing a mental health issue
• How to make wellbeing and self-care a priority

The course will enable candidates to build the skills and confidence around mental health disorders, how to support someone who may have a mental health disorder in seeking the appropriate help, it will endeavour to put mental health on the same footing as physical health in the workplace. It will also help delegates understand that self-care is their number one priority and that they cannot help anyone else if they are drained themselves.