Mental Health Awareness Week is an important reminder of how we need to take care, not only of our body, but our mind as well. Around 19% of adults are affected by mental health problems, as well as 46% of teenagers and 13% of children. Mental illnesses are becoming the most common health problem in today’s society.
What is a mental illness?
A mental illness is a health condition affecting the brain that causes troubles in thinking, behaviour and emotion. Having mental health problems causes various issues, since it makes day-to-day life difficult to cope with. There are many different mental health conditions and they can be caused by various triggers, such as trauma or a genetic condition running in the family.
There is still a lot of stigma and misinformation around these illnesses, even in the health and social care sector. That’s why, at White’s Training, we make sure all our learners receive the correct information and up-to-date training so that they can support their service users in the best way for them.
Caring for people with a mental illness
Since mental health conditions are becoming increasingly more common, it’s estimated that over half a million carers have worked or are currently working with people with a mental illness. Just like any other health condition, mental illnesses are a very sensitive topic and need to be supported with specialis help. Carers play an important role when dealing with service users who struggle with these conditions, so it is vital that they receive proper training. Social care workers need to provide a wide range of skills and support, such as listening and encouraging, monitoring medications, managing aggressive or paranoid behaviours, and scheduling medical appointments.
Mental health and other conditions
It is very common for those in the social and health care sector to come across people with mental health issues that are related to pre-existing conditions. People with mental illnesses can also struggle with addiction or drug and alcohol abuse. According to Skill for Care, around 40% of the people affected by a learning disability also have a mental ill-health. Actually, people with learning disabilities are often subjected to negative life experiences, such as abuse and traumas, which end up affecting their mental stability. In fact, many of them don’t have access to proper support and never got the chance to heal from traumatic experiences, so they feel scared, anxious or depressed. Carers might need to diagnose a mental illness while working with someone with a learning disability, in order to offer the correct support and adopt the right approach.
Our Mental Health Awareness Course
At White’s Training, we offer a three hour awareness course focused on mental health. Social care staff needs to have the right values and skills in order to promote good mental health and offer support to the people they care for.
Our course provides training on different mental illnesses such as psychosis, depression, anxiety, dementia, and learning disabilities. Our course offers all of the necessary skills to recognise and handle mental health conditions while understanding the causes and their management. Moreover, we focus on how to communicate with the service users. Carers will learn how to promote positive attitudes towards these illnesses, as well as overall positive health and wellbeing for their service users.
An induction on mental health and how to support people with different conditions should be part of every social care worker’s foundation. Our Mental Health Awareness Course is perfect for new carers, as well as experienced carers who feel the need to improve their service or keep it up to date. This course is currently delivered virtually, face-to-face or via e-learning. If you’re interested, please contact us.