Every year, millions of Canadians deal with mental health challenges that affect not only their personal lives, but can result in difficulties in their careers.
Knowing how to support your colleagues and employees in the workplace is a growing need for many across the country, and St. John Ambulance has responded with a brand-new virtual course to give people useful skills.
Bonnie Birmingham, Director of Programs and Client Services for St. John Ambulance in Newfoundland and Labrador, says the instructor-led online course is focused on providing attendees with the practical techniques and words to create a safe environment for colleagues to share challenges. Taking place in a virtual classroom over seven hours, the course is not only practical, but helps to reduce the stigma around mental health injuries, creating awareness on supportive measures.
“Mental Health and Wellness for the Workplace was developed to equip employees to offer peer-to-peer support for a colleague who’s experiencing a mental health injury,” says Birmingham. “This one-day virtual course helps participants better recognize when and how to act if someone is in distress and guide that person to the appropriate help.”
This new course is in response to feedback from Canadians looking to fill their toolbox with the knowledge and skills to help those around them. The role-playing sessions, mental health information and expert guidance offered by St. John Ambulance instructors sets attendees up with a set of skills to bring back to their workplace and even into their own personal lives.
“Mental health issues and illnesses impact one in five Canadians in a given year,” says Birmingham. “We feel that, as a first aid leader, it’s part of SJA’s mission to focus on mental health issues in the workplace in an effort to improve the health, safety and quality of life of Canadians.”
St. John Ambulance wants online attendees to come away with a fresh outlook on mental wellness and feel comfortable in addressing tough conversations — even difficult subjects such as suicide, stress leave and how to create safe and healthy workspaces.
“We believe that it’s everyone’s business to care about the mental health and wellness of those around us,” says Birmingham. “This new course focuses on mental health and wellness in the workplace and it aims to provide participants with a new awareness regarding mental health and wellness, knowledge of the psychological and social risk factors that may create barriers to the work environment, and an understanding of suicidality and trauma prevention and intervention.”
The one-day instructor-led course is $145 per person and takes place in a virtual classroom. For more information or to sign up for an upcoming session, contact your local St. John Ambulance branch or visit www.sja.ca.