An ODA Member's Reflection of The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Course

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training Reflection

By Virgilia Readett (ODA Member)

I was fortunate enough to attend ODA’s Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) hosted course at Macquarie University, which was facilitated by Penny Dillon on 2nd – 3rd October.

In the lead up, I braced myself for what I though would be a good, but heavy couple of days. These expectations were shattered. Rather than good, it was empowering, rather than heavy it was confronting to say the least.

Across the two days we encountered various startling statistics and home truths. One in five people meet the criteria for mental health illness in Australia in any one year, and 43% of people will be affected within their lifetime. Each participant had been touched by mental illness at some stage in their lives – either facing issues themselves or having had a close family member or friend struggle.

We covered depression, anxiety, psychosis, substance use problems and extensive action planning in detail. There were tears, laughter and comic relief among the group in the safe environment Penny fostered.

We practiced the power in pausing and listening to understand rather than respond. We were armed with techniques and a guiding framework to have the hard conversations. The conversations without which the consequences are much harder.

My biggest take away was the importance of positive relationships to both mental and physical health, which has been shown to be more impactful than other essentials – food and sleep. We were able to put this into practice over the two days with new connections built or strengthened within the network of ODA members present.

Greater understanding of mental health and the perils we can face will break down the stigma. These perils, while not normal, are common and deserve attention and understanding.

I would highly recommend this course to anyone!

If you would like to learn more about Mental Health First Aid Training, please get in contact with ODA info@odamembers.com.au