Youth MHFA course Gets the thumbs up

The two courses were co-delivered by Aly Anderson, from Cam-mind, and Vanessa Moore — who is the CPFT's Children and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) Learning and Development Consultant — both of whom are trained YMHFA instructors. One course was for teachers and other for school/college-based staff and the other for people working with young people within the voluntary sector. Feedback to both courses was very positive, with every participant reporting an increase in both their confidence and knowledge/understanding of how best to support young people with a mental health problem as a result.

Specific feedback included:

Cam-mind is one of the first organisations in Cambridgeshire to offer this new course, which is specifically designed for people who work with or are caring for young people aged 11 to 18.

The course equips participants with the skills they need to recognise the symptoms of emotional/mental health problems, support someone experiencing mental distress and signpost them appropriately. Although similar to the adult course, there are significant differences including much more information on self harm, eating disorders and alcohol/substance misuse.