Free mental health & suicide prevention e-learning Below are details of free, online training modules to help you support the mental health and wellbeing of friends, family, colleagues and clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the modules also focus on strategies to help you to look after your own mental wellbeing throughout the pandemic. The modules below all have a public health or self-help focus. Some are aimed at a particular workforce, others are designed for the general public. Most of the modules are national and can be completed at any time, a few of the sessions are local and are delivered live, online. Click the dropdown headings below for more details.Information about other free online, public health training sessions can be found on Warrington Training Hub. Free mental health & wellbeing e-learning COVID-19, mental health and wellbeing (various providers) The training courses and modules below focus on mental health and wellbeing in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. They cover: How COVID-19 can impact on mental health and wellbeing How you can protect your own mental wellbeing and support others who may be struggling. A number of different organisations have developed the training. The target audience is broad and includes the general public and front line workers. Anxiety in Children and Young People during COVID-19 (FutureLearn) On this course, you’ll learn about anxiety and how you can support young people experiencing anxiety, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The course takes place over two weeks and requires two hours study a week. The areas covered include: The impact of COVID 19 on the mental health of young people. Anxiety: what it is and what causes it. Guidance for parents. Spotting symptoms. Advice, treatments and support. The course was developed by the University of East Anglia. It’s aimed at teachers, supporters, guardians and parents of children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit FutureLearn's website COVID-19: Psychological First Aid (FutureLearn) This course explores the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and what front line workers can do, to help people cope. It takes place over three weeks and requires one hour's study a week. The course covers: What psychological first aid is. How emergencies impact on mental health. The psychological first aid stages: Prepare, Look, Listen, Link. Supporting yourself and your colleagues. Example scenarios. The course was developed by Public Health England and is aimed at frontline workers and volunteers, who are dealing with the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit FutureLearn's website COVID-19: Psychological Impact, Wellbeing and Mental Health (FutureLearn) This course looks at how COVID-19 impacts on mental health and wellbeing, at an individual, group and societal level. The course takes place over three weeks and requires two hours study a week. It covers strategies and advice for: dealing with uncertainty and anxiety related to COVID-19 coping with the challenges of the pandemic preparing for life after COVID-19 The course was developed by Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust and Maudsley Learning. The target audience is the general public, mental health service users and health and social care workers. The course has a particular focus on healthcare workforce issues. Visit FutureLearn's website Psychological First Aid: Supporting Children and Young People (FutureLearn) This course covers how emergencies, like COVID-19, can affect children and young people’s mental health. There’s a particular focus on what you can do to help children and young people cope and get support during and after crisis situations.The course takes place over three weeks and requires one hour's study a week. It covers: what psychological first aid is how children and young people respond to emergencies and crisis situations stages to supporting people: Prepare, Look, Listen, Link supporting yourself and your colleagues The course was developed by Public Health England. The target audience frontline workers and volunteers who have contact with children and young people, during crisis situations. It could also help parents, caregivers and young adults support their peers or family. Visit FutureLearn's website Social Isolation Module (Zero Suicide Alliance) The Social Isolation Step Up Module focuses on building people’s resilience following the COVID-19 lockdowns. The training is aimed at everyone, including the general public. The module takes 5-10 minutes to complete and aims to help people: identify signs that isolation is affecting someone negatively provide suggestions to reduce stress and anxiety recognise when action is needed to keep someone safe put strategies in place to deal with the new normal The Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) also offers two, free, suicide prevention modules, the ZSA Gateway Module (which takes 5-10 minutes to complete); and the ZSA Suicide Awareness Module (which takes 20 minutes). More details about these three training modules can be found on the ZSA’s website. Mental health support and advice in WarringtonAs the ZSA's training is national, it doesn’t cover details of Warrington’s mental health support services, but you can find information about how to access local support services by clicking one of the blue age related buttons above, then looking under the dark heading "information and support". Alternatively, click I need urgent help, for details of how to get support if someone can't cope and needs help right now. FutureLearn This website brings together a wide range of free, online mental health and wellbeing courses. The courses, which have been developed by universities across the world, generally run for several sessions, over a number of weeks. They are aimed at a broad range of people including the general public, health and social care workers, teachers and academics. The site includes the courses COVID-19: Psychological First Aid and Psychological First Aid: Supporting Children and Young People. These courses were developed by Public Health England and are aimed at frontline workers. Living Life to the Full This site offers free, online, life-skills courses. The courses, which are based on cognitive behavioural therapy, aim to help people manage issues such as stress, worry or low mood. Free booklets and a range of worksheets can also be downloaded from the site.Visit LLTTF’s website MindEd The MindEd website provides free e-learning resources on mental health and wellbeing. The e-learning is aimed at the general public, volunteers, professionals and students. FamiliesThe resources for families focus on children, young people and older people. The site aims to help people understand what problems can occur, what self-help approaches might work and what support is available. Volunteers, professionals and studentsMindEd's e-learning is relevant across health, social care, education, criminal justice and community settings. It's aimed at anyone from beginner, to specialist. The modules cover the health of infants, children, teenagers and adults. The Wellbeing for Education Return programme This programme is aimed at staff working in schools and colleges. The purpose of the training is to help staff support both young people and colleagues through the COVID-19 pandemic. Public mental healthIn May 2020 a public mental health e-learning session was launched. The session is aimed at people working in public health, primary care, secondary mental health, social care and commissioning. The module outlines the impact of mental health problems, mental wellbeing, and public health interventions. Visit MindEd's website The Open University The Open University offers a number of free, online courses relating to mental health and wellbeing. These range from introductory to advanced and take between two and eighteen hours to complete. Some of the courses have a particular target audience, others would be relevant to a wide range of people. A number of the mental health and wellbeing courses with a self-help, or public health focus are listed below: Challenging Ideas in Mental HealthExercise and Mental Health Mindfulness in Mental Health and Prison Settings Panic Attacks, what they are and what to do about them Public Health and Mental Health Promotion Supporting Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Work and Mental Health Samaritans Wellbeing in the Workplace is a free, online learning programme, which teaches employees the skills to look after their own emotional health. It also covers looking out for others and helping people find support, well before they reach crisis point. The learning aims to: promote wellbeing and resilience build people's confidence to reach out to others provide a practical introduction to listening skills. The training takes around 60 minutes. It includes a video story and the five topics below, which take about 10 minutes each to work through: Why reach out Don’t be put off Recognising signs and signals Things to say and do Look after yourself You'll need to create an account and sign in, to access the training. Then you'll be able to complete it at your own pace. Free suicide prevention e-learning Zero Suicide Alliance - suicide awareness modules The Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) offers two, free, online, suicide prevention training sessions. The training is aimed at everyone, including the general public. The Suicide Awareness Training covers the key issues, offers practical guidance, and takes about 20 minutes. The session aims to: help people identify when someone is displaying suicidal thoughts or behaviour build people's confidence to speak out in a supportive way empower people to signpost others to appropriate services or support The Gateway Module is a very brief introduction to suicide awareness, which gives tips for approaching someone, you're concerned about. This module takes about 10 minutes to complete and is a shortened version of the 20 minute session. Accessing the training More details about these training modules can be found on the ZSA’s website. The ZSA also offers the Step Up Social Isolation Module, which focuses on building people’s resilience following the COVID-19 lockdown. If you have any queries after you’ve completed this module, then please email publichealthtraining@warrington.gov.uk. Mental health support and advice in WarringtonAs the Zero Suicide Alliance's training is national, it doesn’t cover details of Warrington’s mental health support services, but you can find information about how to access local support services by clicking one of the blue, age-related buttons above, then looking under the dark heading "information and support". Alternatively, click I need urgent help, for details of how to get support if someone can't cope and needs help right now. Free suicide prevention resourcesThe Happy? OK? Sad? site has details of a wide range of free suicide prevention resources. These include: links to support services and self-care resources a local flowchart and infographics the Zero Suicide Alliance's resource pages anti-stigma materials how to start a difficult conversation Keep safe plans suicide prevention resources suicide bereavement resources the Stay Alive app Health Education England & Public Health England "We Need to Talk About Suicide" is aimed at administrative and support staff, people working in public health or health promotion roles, and anyone who works with the public. This free, online session was developed by Public Health England, in collaboration with people who have attempted to take their own lives and those bereaved or affected by suicide. "We Need to Talk About Suicide" aims to: reduce the stigma associated with suicide make people aware of possible signs of mental health problems increase people's confidence to approach someone they're concerned about; and to have a conversation about suicide help people understand that by asking someone how they are, talking about suicide and listening, they can make a real difference The training takes between 60 and 90 minutes to complete. Accessing the trainingThe ways you can access "We Need to Talk About Suicide", are outlined below: Open access: The training is available to anyone through this link, however this version of the session won't save your progress or track your learning activity. Access via e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) Hub:If you login your account on the e-LfH Hub, or if you register for an account, then a record of your learning will be saved. If you don’t have an account, then you can still complete the session, but no record will be saved. Access via ESR: If you work for an NHS Trust that uses ESR for e-learning, then you can access the session through the ESR NLMS portal. When you login to NLMS you'll need to enrol the session. If you have any queries after you’ve completed this module, then please email publichealthtraining@warrington.gov.uk. Mental health support and advice in WarringtonAs this online session is national, it doesn’t cover details of Warrington’s mental health support services, but you can find information about how to access local support services by clicking one of the blue, age-related buttons above, then looking under the dark heading "information and support". Alternatively, click I need urgent help, for details of how to get support if someone can't cope and needs help right now. Free suicide prevention resourcesThe Happy? OK? Sad? site has details of a wide range of free suicide prevention resources. These include: links to support services and self-care resources a local flowchart and infographics the Zero Suicide Alliance's resource pages anti-stigma materials how to start a difficult conversation Keep safe plans suicide prevention resources suicide bereavement resources the Stay Alive app
