Moonee Valley City Council, Victoria, has taken an important step on its continued path towards a more mentally healthy workplace for staff.
Council’s Workforce Development team has recently completed a Mental Health First Aid training program providing them with further technical knowledge to assist in the development of Council’s Mental Health/Stress Prevention Policy and Action Plan.
Course participants learnt how to identify the signs and symptoms associated with mental health problems, how to listen and communicate non-judgmentally and how to encourage people to seek professional help and other types of support.
Moonee Valley Chief Executive Officer, Bryan Lancaster, said the mental health and wellbeing of staff is a priority for Council.
“This training will enable the Workforce Development team to contribute to the development of a mental health policy which aims to create a workplace free from the negative stigma regarding mental health.
“The Workforce Development team is often required to interact with staff who may be dealing with a range of issues, including mental wellbeing, so their ability to be able to appropriately support a staff member experiencing mental health issues is invaluable.
“The feedback we are getting is that the training is helping staff not only in their professional lives, but their personal lives as well, which is great.”
