No matter what industry you work in, mental health is an area of workplace health safety that cannot be ignored.
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This month is Mental Health Awareness Month and local registered training organisation IntegratedLiving Australia will host Mental Health First Aid workshops to keep people ahead of the information on offer.
Mental Health Day is tomorrow, a part of Mental Health Week which promotes social and emotional wellbeing to the community while encouraging people to maximise their health potential by dealing with their mental health.
Often a taboo in society, mental health workshops have been hosted in the area throughout the past four years drawing a broad cross section of people from pre-schools, child care providers, schools, aged care professionals and individuals.
One large employer in Scone to gain advice and information was Scone Equine Hospital who sent about 10 employees to a workshop in Scone in August.
The business currently employees just over 100 people and aims to spread awareness of mental health throughout its entire practice from senior veterinarians to nurses to administration staff.
Scone Equine Hospital director David O’Meara attended the workshop himself as he believes it is important to raise the level of knowledge and awareness of mental health conditions people may experience.
“It was good to help us feel comfortable to step in when someone’s having a problem and offer support.
“A big thing being in a regional area, is knowing what resources we have access to and those we don’t,” Dr O’Meara said.
“From the feedback we received, a lot of people have realised they were a bit ignorant of mental health, but now they have the information to recognise someone in the workplace or in the community who needs some assistance.”
IntegratedLiving Aust-ralia representative Amanda Riordan has worked with Barnaby Joyce in a bid to encourage stock and station agents and farmers to attend the workshops, as she said agents are usually the first person to see the issues with their clients, and to top it off they then walk away with this stress and need assistance themselves with very little conversation or assistance provided.
A two day Standard Mental Health First Aid workshop is being held in Muswellbrook today and tomorrow.
To find out more, contact IntegratedLiving Australia on 6546 9999 or email rto@integratedliving.org. au