A tailored 12-hour Scotland's Mental Health First Aid programme for firefighters and fire and rescue teams, combining the recognised SMHFA framework with discussion and examples that reflect the pressures and realities of emergency service work.
Enquire about this course
Scotland's Mental Health First Aid (SMHFA) is an established 12-hour programme that must be delivered by a qualified SMHFA instructor. Programme quality is continuously monitored by Public Health Scotland.
This tailored version keeps the recognised SMHFA programme intact while making the discussion, examples and context more relevant to firefighting and fire and rescue work. The core learning remains SMHFA; the tailoring sits in how that learning is facilitated and connected to the experiences and pressures people may encounter in emergency service roles.
The aim is not to turn firefighters into counsellors or mental health professionals. It is to give people a practical framework for recognising when someone may need support, beginning a conversation and helping them towards appropriate further help.
Firefighters work in situations that can be physically demanding, unpredictable and emotionally difficult. The role may involve exposure to serious injury, loss, traumatic incidents and risk, alongside shift work, disrupted sleep, long or intense periods of activity and the responsibility of responding calmly when other people are in crisis.
People respond to those experiences in different ways. Being exposed to difficult incidents does not mean someone will develop a mental health problem, but repeated pressure, cumulative stress or a particularly difficult event can affect wellbeing. A strong team culture can be protective, but expectations around coping and getting on with the job can sometimes make it harder to say when something is not right.
This tailored SMHFA course gives firefighters and fire and rescue teams a practical framework for recognising when someone may be struggling, approaching a conversation, listening without judgement and offering appropriate initial support. It also covers mental health crisis and suicide risk, while keeping clear boundaries around what a Mental Health First Aider can and cannot be expected to do.
Firefighters, crew and watch members, managers, team leaders and others working within or alongside fire and rescue services who want a recognised, practical framework for supporting mental health conversations.
Connect the recognised SMHFA programme to the realities of firefighting, including operational pressure, exposure to difficult incidents, shift patterns and the demands of working in high-responsibility teams.
Help people feel better prepared to notice changes, approach a colleague they are concerned about and listen without feeling they need to diagnose, treat or fix the problem.
Build a shared understanding of what appropriate initial support looks like, where the Mental Health First Aider role ends and when professional, specialist or urgent help may be needed.
Understand and practise the five-step approach used to provide initial Mental Health First Aid support.
Build awareness of common mental health problems and consider how distress or changes in wellbeing may show up within emergency service teams.
Develop skills in asking appropriate questions, listening carefully and responding in a calm, supportive way without rushing to solve the situation.
Explore how expectations around strength, coping and professional identity can make it harder for people to speak openly or seek support.
Understand what to say and do when someone may be experiencing a mental health crisis, including when there are concerns about suicide.
Learn how to provide immediate help while recognising personal boundaries and when professional or other appropriate support is needed.
We consider some of the pressures that may be relevant in firefighting, including exposure to distressing incidents, operational risk, shift work, disrupted sleep, cumulative stress and the emotional demands of emergency response.
Guidance on what Mental Health First Aid is, how the role works in practice and why appropriate boundaries matter.
How attitudes, assumptions and stigma can influence people's experiences of mental health problems and their willingness to speak openly or seek support.
Understanding recovery from mental health problems and the role of hope, self-help and appropriate support.
The relationship between alcohol, drugs and mental health problems, and what this can mean when offering initial support.
An introduction to recognising risk, approaching conversations about suicide and responding appropriately when someone may be in crisis.
The importance of listening without judgement, asking appropriate questions and helping someone feel heard.
Basic information about depression and anxiety, how they can affect people in different ways and how to offer appropriate initial support.
Basic information about psychosis and how to offer first aid to someone experiencing a psychotic episode.
The recognised SMHFA content is connected to firefighting and emergency service work through relevant discussion, examples and reflection rather than being delivered as a generic workplace course.
The 12 hours can be delivered as two full days or arranged in shorter sessions to work around the needs of the group.
The course includes a mixture of activities, films and discussion, with opportunities to practise listening and responding rather than relying on presentation alone.
Participants receive the SMHFA manual to take away and use as a reference after the course.
Participants receive a certificate of attendance on completion of the course.
Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid has a defined programme, but the experience in the room also depends on the facilitator. Jean Pryde is an accredited SMHFA facilitator and brings 30 years’ experience working in mental health settings to the way the course is delivered.
Green Ribbons takes a practical, plain-speaking approach to difficult subjects and has delivered training for organisations including Diageo, Macallan and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, alongside professional bodies and community groups.
Tell us a little about your group and what you’re looking for. We can talk through whether this course is the right fit and the practical arrangements.
Open this course on your phone or send it to someone else.
Scan with your phone camera to open the same information on your mobile.
Pass the link to a colleague, save it for later or share it with someone else.
