Why?
Mental illness is very common in the general population, with particularly strong links to deprivation, forensic history and life trauma. Most of us will come across clients with some form of mental illness every day and an increased understanding of the range of conditions, presentations and treatments is essential for any public-facing organisation.

What are the benefits?
This workshop will give an overview of the range of mental health conditions, causes, and treatments. The sessions will also explore the services currently available in the NHS. Each session can be adapted to include specific areas depending on your needs, such as stress-related illness in the workplace, substance misuse, or managing dementia. You will come from these sessions with a better understanding of these common conditions, and with some skills to help identify mental illness in your area of work.

General information:

Core components 

• Understanding mental illness in the general public / within specific demographic or client groups.
• Consequences of mental illness for individuals and society.
• Types of mental illness, including stress-related illness (depression and anxiety), personality disorders, psychotic illness (schizophrenia), and dementia.
• Services available in the NHS for individuals with different mental illnesses.
• Broad overview of the treatments available, and what you might come across in your client group.
• Factors affecting access to support and treatment, including disability and ethnicity, and how to build inclusive services.

Specific components

• Stress-related illness – the bio-psycho-social model of depression and anxiety.
• Understanding the limbic system and neurotransmitters.
• Treatments, including commonly used medication, talking therapies and mindfulness.
• Stress-related illness in organisations – supporting your colleagues and your team.
• Understanding those at risk of stress-related illness, what to watch for and how to help.
• Neurodevelopmental conditions including Autistic Spectrum Disorders and ADHD.
• Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs) – the impact of early life trauma on long-term mental and physical health. Types of ACEs, recognising these in your clients, and the support available.
• Self-harm and suicidality – risk factors and risk assessment.
• Mental illness and substance misuse, including treatments.
• Somatic disorders – understanding medically unexplained symptoms; the causes, treatments and impact for individuals.
• Old age psychiatry – dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Identifying signs in our increasingly older population.
  Each session can be designed around your training needs, your organisation and client groups.