Highland Council supports Mental Health Awareness and launches staff resilience training programme
In support of the national Mental Health Awareness Week (13 – 19 May 2019) The Highland Council has launched a resilience training programme for all employees to be delivered over the next 12 months.
Mental Health Awareness Week is instrumental in raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing each year. Mental health problems are common, affecting around one in four people, and can affect anyone, any day of the year. The week also reminds the nation to take time to think about and focus on wellbeing and to embrace the recommended steps we can all take to manage our mental health.
Highland Council Leader, Cllr Margaret Davidson said: “The Council’s approach to mental health recognises that for Highland to be a place to thrive we need to explore ways of improving mental health crisis responses and suicide prevention, a key outcome for us in our corporate plan, and we are working with our partners to achieve this.
“By supporting initiatives such as Mental Health Awareness Week, we can increase understanding and reduce the stigma around mental health and promote good mental health and wellbeing in the workplace and in our communities. We can all help by making small changes such as asking family, friends and colleagues if they are okay, and encouraging them to speak to someone they trust if you are concerned about their wellbeing.”
Chief Executive, Donna Manson said: “Living well and positive wellbeing is an important contributor to how successful we can be as a Council. We are committed to supporting our employees to look after themselves to ensure a motivated and positive workforce. Our resilience training programme is our latest initiative to support mental health awareness and wellbeing across the Council and we hope to support staff to feel stronger and more capable of coping with life’s challenges through the provision of practical strategies, tactics and tools to bolster resilience.”
Several organisations such as the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) or MIND offer a range of ideas online about how to manage mental wellbeing.