One of the first things we talk about in our Mental Health Awareness Courses is that words matter.
The words we use to describe mental health conditions and substance use disorders (a disorder is something can impair behaviour), can impact the likelihood that people will seek help and the quality of the help they receive.
Person-centered language – which means we focus on the person, not their condition – reflects that the mental health condition or illness is only one aspect of a person’s life.
Some example of this would be ‘substance use disorder’ instead of ‘substance abuser’, ‘a person with psychosis’ rather than ‘psychotic’, ‘died by suicide’ rather than ‘committed suicide’.
Words can be very powerful in helping change our mindset around mental health, especially in helping people to better understand conditions and most importantly to access the support they need.
Kindness and empathy are important tools in understanding, and talking about, mental health conditions.
If you want to book a free mental health awareness course for your community, voluntary group or charity, or book accredited mental health training for your business, call us on 0330 043 5334 or email hello@cooksonfirstaid.org to discuss your training needs.
The words we use to describe mental health conditions and substance use disorders (a disorder is something can impair behaviour), can impact the likelihood that people will seek help and the quality of the help they receive.
Person-centered language – which means we focus on the person, not their condition – reflects that the mental health condition or illness is only one aspect of a person’s life.
Some example of this would be ‘substance use disorder’ instead of ‘substance abuser’, ‘a person with psychosis’ rather than ‘psychotic’, ‘died by suicide’ rather than ‘committed suicide’.
Words can be very powerful in helping change our mindset around mental health, especially in helping people to better understand conditions and most importantly to access the support they need.
Kindness and empathy are important tools in understanding, and talking about, mental health conditions.
If you want to book a free mental health awareness course for your community, voluntary group or charity, or book accredited mental health training for your business, call us on 0330 043 5334 or email hello@cooksonfirstaid.org to discuss your training needs.