There has been a much-needed movement happening in our workplaces, schools and homes, with voices from role models in sport and popular culture – we are finally talking about mental health.
And more than that – we are recognizing the responsibilities we all have around it. Whether that is in supporting decisions to value mental health over personal and national glory as shown by Olympic gymnast Simone Biles or recognizing the psychological impact of the pandemic on our NHS staff in providing them with psychological support, mental health is finally approaching its long-awaited equivalence with physical health.
There is, however, a growing concern amongst mental healthcare professionals such as myself that the mental health commercial packages being offered to businesses often fall far short of the level of quality and expert-led services that we apply to physical health.
This is a perfect storm – a new high value on mental health with corresponding anxiety about its impact and cost for businesses, coupled with a lack of understanding and transparency about what is needed and who is qualified to deliver it.
Many businesses now recognise that they wish to, or even need to, provide mental health awareness training, HR solutions and mental health support to their employees – but currently there are remarkably few qualified mental health professionals working in this area. Most clinical psychologists, for example, are busily employed in their traditional roles in the NHS, although our presence in the private and corporate sector is growing.
Let’s take Mental Health First Aid training. MHFA was developed out of an enormously inspiring and community-minded mission statement: to “create an unshakeable belief that we can all talk freely about mental health and seek support when we need it” (Simon Blake, Mental Health First Aid England’s Chief Executive). MHFA has since grown to be incredibly popular and highly subscribed, often being seen as the necessary benchmark by businesses.
However, does it work? Whilst the HSE noted in its 2019 review into the use of MHFA that it succeeds in raising awareness of mental health, they failed to find evidence for its effectiveness. Criticisms are growing from health professionals that it may even be oversimplified and potentially inappropriate to liken mental with physical first aid – something that requires an in depth expert understanding of mental health to be able to navigate.
Does this matter? I would say, when it comes to people’s mental health, and indeed, when MHFA is a commercial product often costing businesses between £150 and £300 per delegate, then yes it does. With many businesses not using a technical review process to ensure quality and suitability of mental health training, this is currently an unregulated market. Those who win contracts are then potentially the well-connected, rather than the well-qualified.
I would have concerns about who is selected to offer MHFA roles in workplaces – how is this done and are these individuals assessed as psychologically resilient to offer this role? Are they supervised and supported? What is the overall strategy for mental health within the business which aligns any training or intervention with occupational health, HSE and HR policy and procedure? The evidence supports this multi-tiered approach to best support mental health in workplaces, but it is very seldom put into practice – possibly as it requires considerable expertise.
And that really is the point that I would like to make. For mental health support in our workplaces truly to be equivalent with physical health there needs to be a recognition of the need for evidence-based practice overseen and ideally, delivered by trained mental healthcare professionals.
MHFA is not a mental health qualification, even for those who are instructors; they are still essentially equivalent with physical first aiders. And while useful within their defined remit, physical first aid trainers are of course usually not nurses, not doctors, and not open-heart surgeons. Within physical health these differences in competence are recognized and respected – surely, we should be doing this for mental health too?
Thankfully there are now alternatives. Furthermore, where appropriate, there may still be a specific, more limited role for initiatives such as MHFA within what could be a much better regulated and effective sector led by mental health experts.
I for example am one of a growing number of chartered clinical psychologists who are offering their skills to the corporate world. Clinical Psychologist is a legally protected title in recognition of having the highest level of mental health training, governance and expertise, externally regulated by an independent professional body (the HCPC). I offer expert mental health solutions for businesses to ensure they are providing something safe and effective. The guiding structure and principles I use for organisations is based on my doctoral training in mental health and psychology and nearly 15 years of experience. This provides assurance that all consultation and staff training is delivered by an expert applying evidenced-based practice. Many MHFA trainers are very passionate about their field, many have lived experience of mental health issues, but they are not experts.
If you are interested in creating a professional and expert-led solution for your organisation, I would love to hear from you. Let’s really make mental health valued at the level it should be.