The mental health and well-being charity Heads Up, which is based in South Horrington, is working in association with trainer Vanessa Gordon to offer Mental Health First Aid training to the local community.

This includes businesses, organisations or individuals. Mental Health First Aid is an educational course which teaches people how to identify, understand and help a person who may be developing a mental health issue.

In the same way as we learn physical first aid, Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to recognise those crucial warning signs of mental ill health.

The national training body, Mental Health First Aid England, said 140,000 people were trained in 2018-19 – the most ever in a single year, from local hairdressers to employees in global corporations.

Trainer Vanessa Gordon has worked in mental health services for more than 30 years encompassing older people, child, adolescent, acute mental health, inpatient and community services.

She is a registered mental health nurse and a trustee of Heads Up. She was the national clinical lead for NHS England Patient Safety for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, until her recent retirement.

She now works for NHS England as a clinical reviewer for patients with learning disabilities and runs her own Mental Health First Aid training courses.

Heads Up provides activity-based learning and development workshops for individuals with mental health needs, including adults with dementia, learning disabilities and physical disabilities.

It provides support to enable individuals to establish links to their local community and in particular access information such as education, volunteering and employment opportunities.

Vanessa runs a Mental Health First Aid two-day course, and an Introduction to Mental Health First Aid half-day course. The courses are run in the Heads Up Training Room, or at a venue of your choice.

To book your place on one of the courses, contact Vanessa by calling 07564 071477 or email [email protected].