Date: Tuesday June 23, 2020 at 11:44am
“Mental health
is equally as important as physical health” is the view of fitness education
provider Study Active’s Managing Director James Luscombe.
With this philosophy
in mind, Study Active, who are an established provider of ELCAS funded Health
& Fitness qualifications, are now proactively encouraging MoD personnel to
study for their Level 2 Mental Health Awareness qualification - and better
still, the course can be funded by Standard Learning Credits (SLC)– which all
MoD personnel are entitled to.
So what made
Study Active, a company renowned nationally for its Personal Trainer
qualifications, want to diversify to educate the masses in mental health?
“It’s something that we have been exploring for a long time” says
James. “Mental health problems are very prevalent and its apparent there is
such synergy between ones mental and physical health. In fact I like to use the
term “total holistic well-being” which is more inclusive of the important of a
healthy mind as well as body”.
So how does
Study Active’s new qualification help educate people on how to be aware of
mental health issues?
“Well firstly, it’s a short
course which can be studied remotely, so it can be studied in ones own time
using some fantastic interactive online learning resources, and there are no
exams, just online quizzes so its not a heavy study commitment at all. More so
it’s designed to raise awareness and to provide recognition that a successful
candidate now has the tools to recognise and act upon a mental health issue.
There are no entry requirements whatsoever and the skills really are applicable
to any person from any sector, it’s totally universal and certainly applicable
to MoD Personnel”.
So what kind
of things will students study?
“They will firstly
explore a range of mental health conditions and understand what the signs and
symptoms of these are. This is not so they can diagnose themselves or others
(only a GP can do that) it is more so they may be able to recognise when
something is not right and to understand the perspective and feelings of
someone suffering from a mental health condition. The second part of the course
is all about mental health first aid and this looks at what can be done to help
people that may be suffering. Obviously treatments are at the discretion of a
GP so we’re not really touching on that side of things so much, instead we are
looking at what questions you may ask or what things you should (or should not)
say to help someone who may be in need”.
This training
sounds extremely useful, how much does it cost?
“The
good news here is that you may apply to use your Standard Learning Credit (SLC)
funding to cover up to 80% of the course fee. This means only a small
contribution is required from each delegate. It also means that an individual’s
SLC allowance is made good use of for the year, as this funding allowance is
often left unspent”.
What do you
hope launching this qualification will achieve?
“I
think it’s all about everyone feeling empowered that they can help to transform
the lives of themselves and others who may be suffering from mental health
issues. The important thing is to be able to recognise a mental health issue be
it in yourself or another person, and to act accordingly, whether his means a
GP referral, engaging in some talking therapy or even just having a cup of tea
with a caring friend. Simply ignoring
mental health issues or living in denial is just not helpful so we
really encourage as many people as possible to educate themselves in what to
recognise and how to act, it really can make such a difference”