Course aims: by the end of this course learners will have:
- reflected on the types of phone calls they find most challenging and started to develop strategies to better manage them
- understood how mental distress may affect a caller’s communication and how best to respond
- practiced the structured HELP model of supporting callers who may be experiencing mental distress
- understood the particular challenges involved in taking phone calls from people in mental distress and how to access support for themselves
Course outline
- how mental distress may affect people who call this service
- what types of call do you find most challenging?
- identifying when callers may be in mental distress by what they say and how they say it
- proactively broaching the topic of mental health with callers
- the HELP model for managing calls which are challenging either in content or tone or both
- the power of reflective listening and conveying empathy
- how anxiety and fear affects how people speak on the phone, and how to promote positive interactions
- best practice in responding to callers who are angry or who make threats
- when callers express suicidal thoughts – how to interact, risk assess and access help for the caller and yourself
- reflecting on current stressors and challenges within the team
- looking after your own mental health at work – the stress bucket model
Mental health at work training 