MENTAL HEALTH

View all of our Mental Health training courses below

To find out more about any of the listed courses, or to book, please hit the button below.

Understanding Grief and Loss

This Course examines the natural reactions associated with losing any relationship that we deem to be significant and emotionally important. It will cover models and stages of grief, how best to negotiate and work through the array of powerful emotions associated with loss. The course will also look at how best to assist somebody through their grief process using practical skills. There will be an opportunity to discuss, and determine, what recovery looks like for the huge variety of losses that may confront a person throughout their lives, including loss of a child.

Self-Harm / Self Injury

The course addresses the reasons why people self-harm or injure. It explores the distinction between self-injury and suicide whilst challenging and developing the participants understanding of the subject. We define self-harm and the role it plays in peoples lives. Develop clarification for developing personal criteria for when self-harm, in the context of substance use, becomes a safeguarding concern. We describe the personal impact upon the practitioner or supporting person in working with self-harm and the method for assisting service users to find alternatives from self-harm and injury.

Attachment Theory, Neuroscience and Parenting

To gain a better understanding of early childhood attachments based on Bowlbys’ Attachment Theory. To better understand how these early childhood attachments create a template for all future adult attachments. To gain an understanding of how clients with chronic substance dependency, who are resistant to change, can often be helped by having an understanding of early childhood patterns. To better understand how drugs, from a neuropsychological perspective, are sometimes used counteract these imbalances.

Neurodiversity

Understanding and working with Personality Disorders

This course will give the attendee an understanding of the difficulties of working with someone with PD. What is it? What are the behavioural characteristics, and how do we as workers avoid those behaviours challenging our sense of safety and competency, and how to use Dialectic Behaviour Therapy techniques to aid your work.

Understanding and managing stress

What is stress? How do we respond to it physically and emotionally and what to do about it. Don’t worry, this is not a meditation course. No need to bring the beads!! Whilst we all experience stress, our perception of, and response to it can differ widely.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder Awareness

This course aims to help you recognise signs and symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and to become familiar with the diagnostic criteria of Autism and the diverse spectrum of behaviours, abilities and differences. When you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism. It will help you to explore some of the theories about the causes of autism and dispel the myths and stereotypes including lack of empathy, lack of interest in relationships, lowered emotional experience, lack of creativity, inability to learn. To learn how best to work effectively with a person on the autism spectrum – understanding barriers to engagement and differences in the pace of change and to appreciate that Autism is a high anxiety condition that often presents without discernible or expected anxiety symptoms.

Understanding Depression and Anxiety

This course is for anyone with an interest in gaining insight into the subjective experience of depression and anxiety, the links between these states, suggested causes of dysfunctional anxiety and depression, and an overview of some of the most widely used treatment approaches.

These conditions are often, but not always linked and may be considered the fraternal twins of mood disorders.

How do we help someone with anxiety or depression? How do we help ourselves?

PTSD & Complex Trauma

Anyone working with people who find it difficult to cope with mainstream life, such as those working in homeless settings, substance misuse services, social workers, mental health workers, doctors, nurses and teachers. Also, anyone who has experienced trauma will benefit from a more informed neurological explanation of what has happened to them, what symptoms they may be struggling to understand and how to regain equilibrium and reduce the pain. A basic understanding of the neuroscience of trauma. How does trauma occur and why do people apparently react differently to the same situation? What are the symptoms of trauma? Understanding vicarious trauma. Relationship between trauma and mental health, substance misuse and physical health. Early childhood attachments and trauma.

Flashbacks and re-living trauma. Treatments for trauma. Trauma first aid – how to reduce the impact on an individual after they have experienced a traumatic event.

Understanding Anger and Assertiveness

Often described as a ‘negative emotion’, this course considers the value and usefulness of anger- if channelled appropriately. Participants will be encouraged to consider what we have been taught about anger, and how these thoughts can lead to depressive and aggressive patterns of behaviour. The aims are to be able to identify the differences between feelings, thoughts and behaviours, describe the function of anger as a ‘contact’ emotion and explore a model which explains the cognitive process through which anger can be denied and/or exaggerated resulting in harmful behaviours directed towards the self or others.

Positive Psychology & Wellbeing

This course introduces participants to the movement of positive psychology as first made popular by Professor Martin Seligman. This relatively new psychological approach focuses on strengths rather than weaknesses and asserts that happiness can be cultivated by identifying and utilising the strengths and personality traits already possessed. The course will describe the fundamentals of positive psychology which attempts to shift the focus of psychology from pathology, victimology and mental illness to positive emotion, virtue and strength.

Working with and understanding Schizophrenia and Psychosis

Hearing voices or feeling paranoid are common experiences which can often be a reaction to trauma, abuse or deprivation. These experiences are often called psychosis or schizophrenia. Up to 10 per cent of the general population hear voices at some point in their life. Many people also have ideas and beliefs that those around them find strange. However only one in 100 people receive a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Our understanding of psychosis has come a long way in the last 20 years.

Definitions of psychosis and schizophrenia

Understanding the other ‘mental health’ diagnoses that may include psychotic experiences

Becoming familiar with definitions of common terminology such as hallucinations, delusions, psychosis

Examining recent research into the genetic, environmental, developmental and social variables which are thought to contribute to the onset of psychosis.

How best to engage with someone who is experiencing delusions or hallucination

Who can be affected – prevalence studies

Treatment options and focus has changed over the past 20 years. It is becoming more acceptable that trauma has a strong link to many psychotic reactions, but not all. Causation is thought to have multiple contributing factors which will be explained and explored throughout the day.

Finally we will explore some of the treatment regimes, from drugs to talking therapies.

Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence

The major themes covered in this one day course are as followed.

What is sexual violence
Understanding the diversity of domestic abuse
How prevalent is sexual violence and abuse
What are the effects of sexual violence and domestic abuse on survivors
How best to support survivors
Let’s examine some of the underlying factors which contribute to creating an abusive relationship …with an improved understanding of the pathology of the abuser, we can offer greater insight and relief for survivors and reduce the levels of self-blame and shame that often accompanies those who have been abused
The power of being heard and understood and to make sense of the abuse