Mental Health Training: How to Help a Friend

How to Help a Friend training is free and delivered by students for students. It breaks down the simple steps you need to take to notice the signs that someone is struggling, gives you tips on how to reach out and what actions you can take to help.

When we struggle with life, it can be hard to reach out and ask for help, or even have a conversation about how we feel. Sometimes we mask our real emotions, hoping that others won’t see them. As a friend, watching a mate struggle can be challenging. Do you say something? And if you do, what should you say? 

The action of reaching out can mean they access the support they need before they reach crisis point. 

What students say about the training

• Participants rated the overall training a 4.6 out of 5
• After the workshop, 98.9% of participants felt confident to offer a person support and information about mental health problems.

UNSW students in volunteering roles should complete the How to Help a Friend training. 

To help you decide if this is the right course for you, we’ve created the UNSW Student Mental Health Training Framework to help support your decision, which includes other student training workshops.

How to Help a Friend training is a once-off 1-2 hour interactive workshop that can be delivered in-person or online. The training aims to build students’ confidence in:

• Identifying the ‘red flags’ that another student may be experiencing a mental health concern
• Reaching out and checking-in with a friend/peer
• Providing information about available UNSW support services for students.