“Leah and Finn were able to translate our ideas and draft content into powerful and very well-received modules. We benefitted from their e-learning expertise to create engaging modules that convey serious and potentially difficult material in ways that have felt containing and educational, without being patronising or too didactic.” - Caroline Dower, Head of Counselling, Durham University
We were approached by the Head of the Counselling Service at Durham University. Demand for Mental Health First Aid training among university staff was increasing, to the point where it was difficult for the team to respond to all the requests for face-to-face training, while maintaining their core offering of one-to-one counselling and other forms of support for students.
We worked with Caroline and her colleagues to design and build a suite of online interactive modules to guide university staff on how best to promote students’ wellbeing while maintaining their own boundaries. The modules covered topics like:
Mental health in the university context
Responding to individuals in distress
Initiating a wellbeing conversation
Common conditions.
A key aspect of this project was embedding the learning in authentic scenarios so that staff would feel able to put what they learned into practice in their own interactions with students. To do this, we worked with professional actors and students to record a number of scripted scenes. We also created formative activities to reinforce key points - for example, inviting staff to categorise possible responses according to whether they demonstrated good practice.
The modules were uploaded to the university’s VLE, creating easy access for staff and facilitating completion tracking and other analytics.
“The projects were managed very well – clear communication and expectations, and the timely delivery of professional resources. We found them a pleasure to work with – and hence recommended them for a further project in collaboration with our Students Union. Again they showed tremendous skill in working with a number of stakeholders, editing and refining the material with enthusiasm, respect and skill.”
We were subsequently invited to work with officers at the Students’ Union to adapt some of the content to create two further modules, one for all students and one specifically for student leaders. Using the SU's colour scheme and branding guidelines, as well as creating a new “mythbuster” activity to tackle common misconceptions, we were able to create colourful and fun modules, while still communicating key messages about serious topics.
“Students and staff have been delighted with the outputs – and as a suite of modules, consistent and yet distinctive in their aims, we have transformed the landscape of mental health awareness and support.”