Mental Health First Aiders
What is a Mental Health First Aider?
The department’s trained Mental Health First Aiders are a point of contact for staff and students who are experiencing a mental health issue or emotional distress. They are trained to spot the early signs and symptoms of mental ill health, assess the risk of suicide of self-harm and if necessary escalate to the appropriate emergency services.
Mental Health First Aiders are not trained to be therapists or psychiatrists and are foremost employees of the University and will not supersede University policy.
How can they help:
- Available for a supportive conversation.
- Listen non-judgementally.
- Maintain confidentiality as appropriate.
- Support and encourage you to get appropriate help which may be in the form professional support or self-help strategies.
Please feel free to get in touch with any of the mental health first aiders (contact details on the right-hand side), and pass on this information to any NDPCHS member who you think might benefit from having an informal chat with someone at a convenient location that suits them.
If you wish to explore more options, there are a number of websites below which you may useful (please note that these are external to NDPCHS).