Recently a number of the senior management team at Hard Numbers participated in the MHFA England training course to become qualified Mental Health First Aiders. As a new and growing agency this was an important step to make sure we’re putting support structures in place for our team and creating a first class working environment. Whilst we’re certainly not qualified health professionals, we did learn some important lessons that we think every manager should know.
1. Using non-judgmental language
Throughout the course a consistent theme and topic was the importance of using non-judgemental language when approaching mental health. There are some terms that are commonly used when describing mental health that actually come with negative connotations and judgements. Understanding this in a mental health crisis situation can be absolutely critical to effectively communicating with and supporting the person in need. For managers, understanding the importance of language when either approaching an issue with a member of staff or giving feedback is crucial. We’ve all seen how an email can be taken in a negative way that was not intended by the sender and often the root cause of this is using language that may have a negative connotation. Being conscious of this and using non-judgemental language can really help prevent issues arising when giving feedback and constructive criticism.
2. Understanding your frame of reference
We all come with our own frame of reference which is influenced by a whole host of factors, such as upbringing, age and gender. This can all influence our perspective on certain situations, and this is not to place value on or say certain perspectives are good or bad but to allow yourself to approach certain situations with a degree of sensitivity and empathy that can prevent conflict or disagreements. This is not only extremely valuable in approaching someone during a mental health crisis, but when dealing with colleagues and team members in an empathetic and supportive way.
3. The Stress Container
Managing your own stress levels but also those of your fellow colleagues and team members is much easier said than done. Working in the PR industry can be stressful and that’s not even considering factors outside of work in our personal lives that can all add to our stress. During the course we were introduced to the ‘Stress Container’ , a really useful visualisation tool to help manage stress levels. Everyone has different sized containers as well as their own coping mechanisms and acknowledging that some people may be more vulnerable to stress is really important. Understanding the factors that can add to your own and others people’s stress and fill up that ‘Stress Container’ as well as activities or habits from exercise to socialising with friends is crucial to managing your own stress levels as well as that of the rest of your team.
4. Active and non-judgemental listening
An extremely important skill that we learnt during the course was active and non-judgemental listening. For many, listening will be something that we do unconsciously and it's not something that is commonly practised and honed as a skill. But listening is a real skill that takes practice to do well and effectively. Body language in particular is really important as a listener to put the person talking at ease. Maintaining eye contact, ensuring you're both on the same level, as well as having a neutral and open body position are useful ways to achieve this and positive verbal cues can also have a really positive effect. Listening is a key tenet of mental health first aid but also a vital skill for any manager.
5. Looking after yourself
Ultimately to provide effective support and mental health first aid to someone you need to be feeling well and be in a good place yourself. Sometimes that’s not going to be the case, everyone has good and bad days, and sometimes removing yourself from a mental health first aid situation and prioritising your own mental health is the absolute right thing to do. For managers the takeaway here is that to lead a good team and manage effectively, ensuring your feeling at your best is really important. We can’t help others if we don’t help ourselves and taking the time to prioritise yourself is sometimes exactly the right thing to do.
If you’re interested in completing the MHFA England Mental Health First Aid course please follow the link here for more information.
