About This Course
Mental health is one of the most pressing yet underaddressed dimensions of organisational performance and community wellbeing. Globally, depression and anxiety disorders cost the economy trillions of dollars annually in lost productivity, absenteeism, and staff turnover. Yet the majority of organisations lack trained personnel who can recognise early signs of psychological distress, respond appropriately, and connect affected individuals with the right support systems.
TrainingComplex's Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Training is a rigorous, five-day professional programme designed to bridge this critical gap. Drawing on internationally recognised frameworks — including the WHO Mental Health Action Plan, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) MHPSS Guidelines, and the Psychological First Aid (PFA) field guide — the course provides participants with a comprehensive foundation in mental health literacy, psychosocial support practice, and workplace wellbeing promotion.
The programme is highly practical, moving beyond awareness-raising to build concrete competencies: conducting basic psychosocial assessments, delivering Psychological First Aid, facilitating peer support conversations, designing staff wellness initiatives, and navigating referral pathways. Participants will also explore the unique mental health challenges faced in humanitarian, development, and corporate settings, ensuring the content is applicable across sectors.
By the end of the five days, participants will leave with the confidence, tools, and frameworks to act as mental health champions within their organisations — fostering cultures of psychological safety, reducing stigma, and ensuring that no colleague, client, or community member faces a mental health crisis without appropriate support.
Who Should Attend
- Human Resources Managers and Officers responsible for staff wellbeing
- Occupational Health and Safety Officers and Practitioners
- Team Leaders, Supervisors, and Line Managers who support staff welfare
- Social Workers and Community Development Officers
- NGO and Humanitarian Aid Workers operating in high-stress environments
- Counsellors, Peer Supporters, and Welfare Officers
- Nurses, Community Health Workers, and Allied Health Professionals
- School Counsellors, Teachers, and Education Administrators
- Corporate Wellness Coordinators and Employee Assistance Programme Staff
- Government Health and Social Protection Officers
Learning Objectives
- Explain key concepts in mental health, psychosocial wellbeing, and the continuum of care
- Identify common mental health conditions, their symptoms, and their impact on individuals and organisations
- Apply the principles and steps of Psychological First Aid (PFA) in workplace and community contexts
- Conduct basic psychosocial needs assessments using structured tools and observation techniques
- Demonstrate effective listening, empathy, and non-judgmental communication skills in support conversations
- Recognise signs of acute stress, burnout, trauma, grief, and suicidal ideation and respond appropriately
- Design and implement workplace mental health and psychosocial support programmes and policies
- Navigate referral pathways and link individuals with appropriate professional mental health services
- Apply strategies for managing personal wellbeing and preventing compassion fatigue and secondary trauma
- Champion mental health awareness, reduce stigma, and foster psychologically safe organisational cultures
Course Modules
Module 1: Foundations of Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing
- Defining mental health, psychosocial wellbeing, and the mental health continuum
- Common misconceptions, cultural attitudes, and stigma surrounding mental illness
- The biopsychosocial model: understanding the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors
- Global and African burden of mental health disorders: statistics, trends, and implications
- Social determinants of mental health: poverty, displacement, gender, and inequality as risk and protective factors
- The role of community, spirituality, and indigenous knowledge systems in understanding and supporting mental wellbeing
Module 2: Overview of Common Mental Health Conditions
- Depression and anxiety disorders: symptoms, presentations, and impact on daily functioning
- Trauma-related conditions: PTSD, acute stress disorder, and adjustment disorders
- Substance use disorders, burnout, and occupational stress syndromes
- Recognising psychosis, suicidal ideation, and when urgent intervention is required
- Grief-related presentations and complicated bereavement: distinguishing normal from clinical manifestations
- Co-occurring conditions and the importance of understanding comorbidity in psychosocial support contexts
Module 3: Mental Health in the Workplace
- The business case for workplace mental health: productivity, absenteeism, and retention data
- Organisational risk factors that contribute to poor mental health: workload, culture, and leadership
- Legal and ethical employer obligations regarding employee psychological safety
- Signs of a mentally healthy workplace and indicators of psychological distress in teams
- The role of line managers and supervisors in early identification and response to employee distress
- Designing inclusive workplace environments that account for diverse mental health needs and lived experiences
Module 4: Psychological First Aid (PFA) — Principles and Framework
- Origins and evidence base for Psychological First Aid in emergency and non-emergency settings
- The five core principles of PFA: safety, calm, connectedness, self-efficacy, and hope
- The Look, Listen, Link model and how to apply it in structured and unstructured settings
- Ethical considerations: confidentiality, boundaries, and 'do no harm' in psychosocial support
- Adapting PFA to cultural and contextual realities: community norms, language, and trust-building
- Limitations of PFA and the importance of knowing when to escalate to trained mental health professionals
Module 5: Communication Skills for Psychosocial Support
- Active listening, reflective responses, and the use of silence in supportive conversations
- Empathy versus sympathy: building rapport without overstepping professional boundaries
- Using non-judgmental, non-stigmatising, and culturally sensitive language
- Challenging conversations: responding to disclosure of abuse, suicidal thoughts, or trauma
- Managing your own emotional reactions during difficult psychosocial conversations
- Verbal and non-verbal communication cues: reading distress signals and adjusting your approach accordingly
Module 6: Psychosocial Needs Assessment
- Purpose and principles of psychosocial needs assessments in community and workplace contexts
- Structured assessment tools: the MHPSS Minimum Service Package and basic screening instruments
- Observation techniques: identifying behavioural and emotional indicators of distress
- Documentation, confidentiality, and ethical data handling in psychosocial assessments
- Participatory approaches to assessment: engaging individuals and communities in identifying their own needs
- Interpreting assessment findings to prioritise support and inform referral and programme planning decisions
Module 7: Grief, Loss, and Trauma-Informed Practice
- Understanding grief and loss across cultural contexts: mourning practices and organisational responses
- The principles of trauma-informed care and why they matter for non-clinical practitioners
- Working with trauma survivors: grounding techniques, stabilisation, and safety planning
- Supporting teams through collective trauma, critical incidents, and organisational loss
- Distinguishing acute grief from prolonged grief disorder and knowing when specialist referral is warranted
- Building post-traumatic growth: recognising resilience and supporting meaning-making after significant loss
Module 8: Referral Pathways and Coordination of Care
- Mapping available mental health resources: community, public, private, and NGO service providers
- Criteria for referral: when psychosocial support alone is insufficient
- Handover and warm referral techniques that maintain dignity and continuity of care
- Navigating barriers to referral: stigma, cost, access, and confidentiality concerns
- Building and maintaining a live referral directory: regular updating, verification, and quality assurance
- Following up after referral: monitoring outcomes, maintaining the support relationship, and managing non-engagement
Module 9: Designing Workplace Mental Health Programmes and Policies
- Frameworks for organisational MHPSS programme design: needs assessment, planning, and budgeting
- Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs): structure, scope, and implementation options
- Developing mental health policies, wellness calendars, and peer support networks
- Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of workplace mental health interventions
- Securing leadership buy-in and building a cross-functional mental health champion network within the organisation
- Communicating mental health programmes to staff: reducing stigma, increasing uptake, and managing expectations
Module 10: Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Trauma, and Practitioner Self-Care
- Understanding compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and secondary traumatic stress in support roles
- Self-assessment tools for measuring personal wellbeing and occupational stress levels
- Evidence-based self-care strategies: physical, emotional, relational, and professional dimensions
- Building organisational cultures that normalise and resource practitioner self-care and peer support
- Recognising early warning signs of burnout and developing a personalised resilience and recovery plan
- Supervision models for psychosocial support practitioners: clinical supervision, reflective practice, and peer debriefing
Requirements & Prerequisites
Participants should have a basic familiarity with human services, health, community development, or people management roles in either a corporate or field-based setting. No prior clinical psychology or counselling qualifications are required, as the course is designed for non-specialist practitioners seeking to build foundational and intermediate MHPSS competencies. A genuine interest in supporting others' wellbeing and a willingness to engage in reflective, discussion-based learning are essential.
Training Methodology
- Psychological First Aid role-play simulations in pairs and small groups, using realistic workplace and field-based distress scenarios
- Case study analysis drawn from documented humanitarian, corporate, and community mental health situations across Africa and the Middle East
- Facilitated reflective circles where participants examine their own assumptions, values, and emotional responses to mental health conversations
- Structured skills practice using standardised psychosocial assessment tools and observation checklists
- Guest perspectives from mental health practitioners sharing real-world referral and care coordination challenges
- Small group design workshops where participants develop a draft MHPSS policy or wellness initiative for their own organisation
- Self-care planning exercises and guided wellbeing inventories to help participants assess and manage their own mental health
- Video-based trigger scenarios followed by structured debrief discussions to build critical analysis of support responses
- Peer feedback sessions using structured observation forms to build constructive communication and reflective practice skills
Organisational Benefits
- Organisations gain trained internal champions who can identify and respond to mental health concerns before they escalate
- Reduced absenteeism, presenteeism, and staff turnover linked to unaddressed psychological distress
- Strengthened duty-of-care compliance and alignment with occupational health and safety standards
- Improved team cohesion, morale, and productivity through a culture of psychological safety
- Enhanced capacity to support staff during and after critical incidents, humanitarian crises, or organisational change
- Organisations in the humanitarian and development sectors demonstrate enhanced accountability to affected populations
- Reduced risk of burnout among high-stress teams, protecting institutional knowledge and operational continuity
- Better referral systems and linkages with external mental health service providers
- Strengthened organisational reputation as an employer of choice with genuine employee wellbeing commitments
- Participants earn a recognised certificate that enhances their professional credibility in MHPSS practice
Where Is Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Training Offered?
This course runs in-person across: Kampala, Cape Town, Nairobi, Abuja, Nakuru, Kisumu, Pretoria, Naivasha, Accra, Addis Ababa, Arusha, Zanzibar, Johannesburg, Riyadh, Dubai, Mombasa, Lagos, Dar es Salaam, Kigali, plus Live Virtual (online) cohorts. Browse live dates for your city below.
Upcoming Schedules
| Location | Format | Dates | Price |
|---|
| Kampala, Uganda |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 9 Oct 2026 |
USD 1,900 |
| Cape Town, South Africa |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 9 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,800 |
| Nairobi, Kenya |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 9 Oct 2026 |
KES 105,000 |
| Abuja, Nigeria |
In-Person |
12 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,800 |
| Nakuru, Kenya |
In-Person |
12 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
KES 115,000 |
| Live Virtual |
Online |
17 Oct 2026 – 8 Nov 2026 |
KES 80,000 |
| Kisumu, Kenya |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
KES 120,000 |
| Pretoria, South Africa |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,300 |
| Live Virtual |
Online |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
KES 80,000 |
| Naivasha, Kenya |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
KES 115,000 |
| Accra, Ghana |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,800 |
| Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,400 |
| Arusha, Tanzania |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,100 |
| Zanzibar, Tanzania |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,500 |
| Johannesburg, South Africa |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,500 |
+237 more dates — view live schedule →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a background in psychology or counselling to attend this course?
No clinical background is required. The course is specifically designed for non-specialist practitioners — such as HR officers, managers, community workers, and health workers — who want to build practical MHPSS competencies. The content is accessible and grounded in real-world application rather than clinical theory.
Will I receive a certificate upon completing the course?
Yes. Participants who attend the full five-day programme and complete all practical assessments will receive a Certificate of Completion in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Training from TrainingComplex. This certificate is a recognised professional development credential suitable for inclusion in your professional portfolio.
Is this course relevant to humanitarian and NGO workers as well as corporate professionals?
Absolutely. The programme is designed to be relevant across sectors, drawing on case studies and scenarios from both corporate workplace settings and humanitarian field environments. Whether you work in an office, a refugee response, a hospital, or a school, the frameworks and skills taught are directly applicable.
How is the course delivered — is it primarily lectures or hands-on practice?
The course is predominantly practical. While there are structured input sessions to introduce key concepts, the majority of learning happens through role-play simulations, case study analysis, group discussions, and design workshops. Participants should expect an interactive, participatory learning environment throughout the five days.
Can organisations send a team to this training to build internal MHPSS capacity?
Yes, and this is strongly encouraged. Organisations that send a team of staff are better positioned to implement systemic changes — such as peer support networks, mental health policies, and referral systems — immediately after the training. TrainingComplex also offers tailored in-house delivery for organisations wishing to train larger groups at their own premises.
