March On Stress

REACTMH® is a tool, developed by experts at March on Stress, which aims to help supervisors to have psychologically savvy and supportive conversations with a colleague about their mental health. There’s very good evidence that many distressed people may not appreciate that they are struggling, or if they do know they may not want, or be able, to seek help. Being able to speak with a supportive supervisor is especially useful for team members who are dealing with repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) or working in stressful environments. 

Research

A study into REACTMH training was published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine in March 2021. The study surveyed healthcare managers who had taken part in a REACTMH training session, comparing their responses before and after completing the training. The study found that a brief active listening skills training package was associated with significant improvements in healthcare manager’s confidence in recognising, speaking with and supporting healthcare workers.

The full study is available here: https://academic.oup.com/occmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/occmed/kqab023/6173864?guestAccessKey=cb7a0088-4857-4db6-bed6-f0a16216c918

Why is REACTMH training important?

Many studies show that line managers, and those with similar supervisory roles, can have a significantly positive, or negative, impact on the mental wellbeing of the people in their teams. Evidence shows that managers who receive training in identifying the need for, and develop the confidence to successfully engage in, supportive mental health and wellbeing conversations with their team members can reduce the risk of longer-term mental ill health by up to 90%*. A study into REACTMH was published in March 2021 (see details above). 

Who is REACTMH training for?

REACTMH training is recommended for all managers, supervisors and team leaders, as well as those with caring responsibilities within certain organisations. The session is 2 hours in duration. 

This concise active listening skills training session will enable supervisors to identify, engage with and support people in their teams who may be struggling with their mental health. The training is designed to improve supervisor’s confidence in initiating supportive wellbeing conversations. During the course you will gain new knowledge and have a chance to put this into practice during the session.

Additional information

We also run a longer session (REACTMHPLUS) which includes the REACTMH active listening skills training as well as providing delegates with a much more thorough understanding of the impact of stress and/or trauma upon staff members. REACTMHPLUS covers a much wider range of topics such as moral injury, the costs of, and the legal duties that an organisation has in relation to poor mental health. REACTMHPLUS is recommended for staff in both supervisory and non-supervisory roles, at all levels throughout an organisation so they can understand how to manage staff working in challenging or traumatic environments. The training sessions are 4 hours in duration, and as well as covering REACTMH in detail, can be tailored to your specific needs.

Conclusion

We recognise that many organisations require concise and focused courses to ensure that managers and supervisors have the understanding and skills to effectively look after their staff. REACTMH is evidence-based and enhances mental health awareness among staff, while training them to be able to have a ‘psychologically savvy conversation’, helping to meet an immediate need (as in the case of many NHS organisations we worked with during the COVID 19 crisis).

Please contact us for more details at info@marchonstress.com

*https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(17)30372-3/fulltext