About
Amanda Jackson
Making Mental Health First Aid a priority, not a tick box
Mental health is talked about a lot – but at a very surface level. Organisations and businesses are beginning to make the right noises about mental health in the workplace. However, for many it’s a tick box policy. We want to find a way to help businesses see the value in a proactive mental health strategy for their workers – and that’s helping them see that it benefits their business productivity as well as the individuals who will feel more valued.
Every business has a physical first aider – but how often do they have to deal with physical injuries? Stress, depression and anxiety are much more common, and yet there is no mental health first aider on hand.
Our ambition is to inspire change at corporate level and raise awareness, to help every management team recognise that their business needs a mental health strategy, and that every worker knows their mental health matters.
Everything was okay – until it wasn’t.
Amanda’s story.
My own journey into positive mental health began after I was clinically diagnosed with anxiety in 2005. I’d ignored the signs for so long – after all, everyone feels anxious sometimes. I didn’t understand the difference between day-to-day stress and a health disorder. Everything was okay – until it wasn’t.
Thankfully, with the help of professionals and my family, I was able to get the support I needed. From there, I began to look into the complex issue of mental health, and the perceptions we hold around it. Whenever I spoke with individuals who were suffering from stress or poor mental health, I was happy to talk to them about my story and help them find a non-judgmental place for support.
I had been a sales trainer and performance coach in the pharmaceutical industry for many years, starting from my first role in pharma in 2002. When I came across MHFA England I realised this was a way I could help businesses to understand mental health. I became a MHFA Instructor Member, gradually raising awareness of the issues.
Over the last five years, Mental Health First Aid has become one of the main courses delivered by Beacon Mental Health Training, along with a range of bespoke interventions.
I am currently writing a book for managers to create highly productive teams, by ensuring a positive environment for employees mental health to flourish.
Beacon Mental Health Training
Beacon Learning and Performance Ltd was founded by Amanda Jackson in 2016 to deliver sales training and performance coaching to the pharma industry. In 2017 Amanda came across MHFA England and knew from her expert training and facilitation background and lived experience around this topic providing these courses was the path she wanted to take. This was when she created a new division to her business - Beacon Mental Health Training. Since then, she has combined her passion for training and enabling others with her determination to help businesses provide a non-judgemental approach to mental health in the workplace.
Amanda is an accredited MHFA England Instructor, ILM coach, trained facilitator and Insights Discovery® Client Practitioner.