Hunter business people will be able to gain insights into building mental health resilience and wellbeing in their organisations at a free morning tea in Merewether on 18 November.

War veteran turned business owner and workplace trainer, Thomas Pulleine said a preventative approach to mental health is needed to combat the high costs and loss of productivity due to impacts of mental health issues in workplaces.

Thomas is a leadership and workplace mental health trainer at registered training organisation, Forsythes Training. Forsythes is introducing a new two-day accredited course called Resilience First Aid.

Director, Chad White said Resilience First Aid teaches people skills in self-care to support themselves and others and avoid burnout and compassion fatigue.

It helps managers and staff to build resilience, learn how to spot signs of low resilience in others and how to talk proactively to people in need. The ALL Protocol conversational method and practical language tools gives people confidence to have meaningful conversations and relationships.

“Many people, including workplace leaders, don’t know what protects mental health, how to talk about it and what resources and skills are available,” Chad said.

“Staff who do the course can become mental health champions to boost resilience and mental health in the workplace.

“The course uses a neuroscience-based and strength-based approach to proactively protect mental health.”

At the morning tea, Thomas will share his lived experience of mental health issues from his service in the Australian Army and how he has used a resilient mindset to help him to recover from physical and mental injuries.

He has gone on to run a successful business and build a career as a workplace trainer. He will provide an overview of Resilience First Aid and what the certification involves for workplaces.

Thomas said only one in 10 people have resilience that’s strong enough to protect against mental illness. This means nine out of 10 of people can benefit from increasing resilience skills to boost protection against mental ill-health.

“While 50 per cent of people will experience a period of mental illness in their life, only two thirds will feel confident to talk about it with someone they trust,” Thomas said.

“In Australia, the mental health crisis costs somewhere between $43 billion and $51 billion per year, while a further $130 billion is the cost of the loss in productivity due to mental health issues.”

Thomas said rather than organisations waiting until people need professional treatment, they should foster a workplace culture of staff supporting each other to build mental health proactively.

“Don’t wait until the people around you are struggling. Take on the challenge to build mental health proactively. This is how we can make a long-term impact and improve business performance.”

IMAGE | Leadership and workplace mental health trainer, Thomas Pulleine.