
Mental Health First Aid Courses
NHS & Public Health Scotland regulated Mental Health Courses

Scottish Mental Health First Aid – SMHFA
The 2-Day NHS Health Scotland Mental Health First Aid course will equip the candidates with the skills and knowledge they need to be able to confidently:
- Give initial support and comfort to someone experiencing a mental health problem
- Provide help to prevent a mental health problem develop into a more serious state
- Deal with a crisis
- Guide that person towards the appropriate help
- Raise awareness about mental health in the workplace
A candidate will also have a deeper knowledge of:
- What is meant by mental health?
- The signs and symptoms of common mental health problems, including depression, anxiety disorders and psychosis
- The range of effective interventions
- How to access professional help and support

Scottish Mental Health First Aid – Young Person SMHFA – YP
Overview:
Mental Health First Aid: Young People course is relevant for anyone who supports young people aged between 11 and 17. This includes, for example, parents, teachers, school nurses, youth workers, mentors, sports coaches and social workers. The course will give confidence in approaching a young person in distress. Mental Health First Aid is an initial response to distress and a pro-active approach to recognise signs and symptoms of poor mental health in young people.
Aim of the course:
- To provide participants with a better understanding of young people’s mental health including depression and anxiety, eating disorders, bullying, self-harm, suicide and substance misuse.
- To equip participants with mental health first aid skills.
- How to recognise the signs of mental health problems or distress.
- How to ask a young person about mental distress – how to provide initial comfort and support. How to have that difficult conversation.
- How to guide a young person towards professional help and other support.

Ofqual and SQA regulated Mental Health Courses
4-hour Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health
FAA/RQF Level 1 Award in Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health
Award in Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health at SCQF Level 4
This awareness course is suitable for everyone as it provides learners with the knowledge to recognise a suspected mental health condition and the skills to start a conversation and be able to signpost a person towards professional help.
1-Day First Aid for Mental Health – 6 hours
FAA/RQF Level 2 Award in First Aid for Mental Health
Award in First Aid for Mental Health at SCQF Level 5
This course is suitable for everyone but has been designed to help employers to provide a positive mental health culture within the workplace and to provide learners with comprehensive knowledge on a range of the most common mental health conditions and the skills to be able to act should a condition be suspected.
Learners undertaking this course will be considered First Aiders for Mental Health and be a point of contact within the workplace to help and support those with a suspected mental health condition.
2-Day Supervising First Aid for Mental Health- 12 hours RQF Level 3 Award in Supervising First Aid for Mental Health Award in Leading First Aid for Mental Health at SCQF Level 6
This course builds on the Level 2/5 Award in First Aid for Mental Health and covers a wider range of mental health conditions and goes into detail on the range of therapy and professional support that a person may be given by professional bodies during treatment for a mental health condition.
The course is suitable for all persons within a workplace but is aimed at those who hold a supervisory/managerial level position and who have responsibility for implementing a positive mental health culture and responsibility for First Aid for Mental Health within an organisation.
Courses For Staff Working With Children
Addressing Challenging Behaviour in a learning environment
Observations Skills and Tools
Recognising and understanding Feelings and Emotions