Active IQ is launching a Level 2 Award in Mental Health Awareness. Officially recognised as a Level 2 qualification on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF), it comprises two units: Mental Health Awareness and Mental Health First Aid.

The qualification, which is an industry first, has no entry requirements, making it accessible to young learners aged 16+ as well as adult learners, fitness professionals, teachers, college tutors, coaches and gym managers. All these roles are likely to encounter peers, clients, students and colleagues with mental health issues and with the support of this training, they will be better-placed to offer advice and guidance on how to access support.

The main purpose is to provide learners with an understanding and awareness of common mental health disorders and issues, help reduce stigma and discrimination and encourage people to talk about mental health. The second unit helps learners spot the signs of mental health issues in themselves as well as others and gives them the skills to offer mental health first aid.

“Identifying and managing mental health issues is very much in the spotlight and rightly so,” says Jenny Patrickson, managing director of Active IQ. “Increasingly, individuals and organisations are faced with friends, colleagues, peers and customers who have mental health issues. Our qualification seeks to help people most likely to encounter those with mental health issues to spot the signs, understand and be skilled in offering support.”

Early Adopter
Approved Active IQ training provider, Ad-Lib Training, is one of the first providers to offer this new qualification.

It was a natural fit for Ad-Lib Training as they work extensively within the area of mental health with the likes of the Bromley By Bow Centre in East London, training young people with mental health issues to influence their peers to adopt a healthier and more active lifestyle. They also work in partnership with Reinvent Lifestyle, training clinical and support staff in mental health hospitals and community settings to activate their service users in physical activity.

Ad-Lib Training co-founder Robin Gargrave developed the first Exercise and Mental Health CPD course back in 2006 and he has played an important role in reviewing the new qualification based on his extensive knowledge and experience in this area.

“We believe that developing and maintaining health through physical activity is a right, not a privilege. We strive to promote inclusion and address health inequality in every aspect of our work,” says Rebecca Bridges, director at Ad-Lib Training. “This qualification is exactly what our industry needs, and we are delighted to have played an important role in developing the qualification with Active IQ. We’ve already had lots of interest from employers we work with and Fusion Lifestyle will be the first operator to place 12 staff on a pilot programme.”