Society Spotlight: JAMHFA
JAGS is brimming with a diverse range of co-curricular groups and activities for our pupils to enjoy, many of which are created and led by the pupils involved. We wanted to celebrate these societies and clubs which so enrich the fabric of our school life.
This week, we have the James Allen’s Mental Health First Aiders (JAMHFA).
The team play an important role in everyday life here at JAGS through their bi-weekly seminars and, having completed mental health training, serve as an extra layer of pastoral support across the school.
Below Trisha (Year 12) explains why she wanted to become a mental health first aider and the great work being done at JAGS:
- What attracted you to the role of mental health first aider?
“I wanted to become a JAMHFA leader because I have a particular interest in mental health, especially with younger children. I am hoping to become a doctor, and so I feel like this role provides me with those vital, transferable skills I need to communicate with younger children about an issue which is often overlooked in comparison to physical health by the medical industry. I especially loved the training day – as I learnt a lot about different types of mental health illnesses and how to approach each one with the ALGEE method (see below). I found this extremely useful for day to day life.”
- What do you enjoy about the role?
“I enjoy the fact that any of my friends can now come to me if they need any advice or help, and I can actually help them to a degree, without just giving meaningless advice. I like the fact that I’m doing some sort of good every time someone approaches me – whether that be my friends or girls in other years etc. I also like our biweekly seminars – they are quite fun!”
- Any advice for pupils thinking of joining?
“I would say that being a JAMHFA member is quite a big, important role – so to any student considering it, I believe that they should really have that passion and really want to do the course – before actually applying.
“In the future, I want to be a doctor – and so I know I will be able to bring these skills that I have gained as a JAMHFA member with me throughout my future career – especially as focus on mental health is growing every year, and it is slowly but surely being destigmatised!”
