If you’re tasked with arranging mental health training for managers within your organisation but are unsure about where to start or what to include in that mental health training, then this guide has been designed for you.
We have trained hundreds of managers all across the globe in how to manage mental health within their teams and share these insights to give you clarity and the key components to consider when designing your mental health training for managers programme.
Why Do Managers Need Mental Health Training?
Fifteen years ago when I worked as an HR Leader, mental health training for managers didn’t exist. After training as a psychotherapist, while still working in HR at the time, I had a huge lightbulb moment. Mental health was present everywhere, but I could see that HR leaders, myself included, knew little to nothing about the topic at the time, and managers knew even less.
While traditional leadership development training continued to be rolled out in the places I worked, along with management development skills, no focus was on mental health, which when I reflect back on it fifteen years later, I wonder why not.
Mental health is complex subject. It differs to other subjects like managing performance, or objective setting or how to give feedback or conduct appraisals because it’s an area managers have little experience in.
Yet we know from looking at the statistics that one in four people in the UK, and one in give in the US, struggle with mental health at any one time.
Some employees have diagnosed mental health conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder, or anxiety and depression. But many go undiagnosed, preferring to try and figure things out for themselves, or struggle on in spite of how they feel.
We all face what might be referred to as life events, which can also have a profound impact on our mental health and wellbeing. Going through a divorce. Being diagnosed with breast cancer. Trying your best to raise a child who is autistic. Caring for a parent with dementia. The bereavement of a close friend.
We are not robots operating from AI. We’re humans with real raw emotion. And when people are struggling with their mental health, there is a direct impact on performance, relation ships internally and with clients and engagement. If we don’t help managers understand the topic of mental health, and how to proactively support team members who are struggling, there’s a strong risk issues will spiral. As I once heard Dame Carol Black say, little belly aches, soon become big belly aches.
The Human Experience vs. Mental Health Conditions
People go through life events, which we refer to as human experiences. These can be anything from a bereavement, a health condition, or personal issues involving children or relationships, like going through a divorce. These life events have the potential to impact us, affecting how we show up mentally, physically, and emotionally.
So it’s important that managers know the difference between people going through life events versus something considered a mental health condition.
Understanding the Mental Health Spectrum
The mental health spectrum is vast and there are a number of things to consider before arranging mental health training for managers. On one end, we have stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression. On the other end, we have more complex conditions such as schizophrenia, psychosis, and multiple personality disorder.
If you’re organising mental health training and are unsure how much of this spectrum to cover, we suggest…
- Don’t try to cover everything. You don’t need to boil the ocean, or overwhelm your managers.
- Managers don’t need to be experts in every mental health condition, less is more.
- Focus on relevance and what your managers are most likely to encounter.
- Breaking down training. Mental Health Training for managers doesn’t have to be done in one go.
Mental health training for managers is not about turning them into therapists; it’s about giving them a foundation to recognise when someone needs support and how to respond appropriately.
Going Beyond Labels: Recognising the Nuances
Each mental health condition exists on its own spectrum. Take anxiety, for example, it fluctuates. Some days are easier to manage than others.
When designing your training, it’s not about teaching managers every detail, but helping them move beyond the label. Let them understand the lived experience of their team members, and remind them that not all stress or anxiety is created equal.
Think about a scale of 0 to 10. Some people might be functioning at a 3, others at a 9. Their coping mechanisms, their mindset, and their level of self-awareness will vary. Helping managers understand that difference is what makes the training impactful.
What to Include in Your Training Content
Here’s a quick overview of what to focus on:
- Stress and burnout (including neuroscience of stress)
- Anxiety (what it is, cause and effect, basic types, trauma-related, social anxiety, phobias)
- Depression (include Bipolar if it’s showing up in your data)
- Addiction (if relevant to your employee base)
- Personal Resilience (many realise they themselves are in a stress response!)
Focus on what your managers are most likely to face, not every possibility.
Should You Include Suicide Awareness?
This is a sensitive and important question. Tragically, many organisations have faced suicide in the workplace.
That said, we do not recommend including suicide within general mental health training. Suicide training is a specialist topic. It can be emotionally overwhelming. If you want to address it, create a standalone module once your managers have the foundations in place.
Structuring Your Mental Health Training
How long should the training be? That depends on:
- Number of managers to put through the training
- Location of the managers – are they all based in Ireland, or are they global?
- Do you want the training to be face to face or online?
- Available budget
- Time constraints
- What you want the training to achieve?
You might have 1,000+ managers, so taking everyone off-site for a day isn’t always practical. Consider pre-recorded content as a supplemental or on-demand resource.
From experience we find what works well when delivering mental health awareness training online is to break the training into modules of 90 minutes to 2 hours each. We deliver this training once a week or in a series of 3 to 4 weeks. This allows managers to put into practice what they are learning and come back the following week to reflect on their actions.
Focus on practical skills:
- Deep listening
- Asking better questions
- Creating psychological safety
- Navigating tough conversations
If you’ve already covered coaching or listening in a previous initiative, go deeper into mental health. Tailor the content to what your organisation needs now.
Should You Cover Employment Law?
In some countries, yes.
- In the UK: The Equality Act 2010
- In the US: The Americans with Disabilities Act
It’s important that managers understand what their legal responsibilities are, especially when it comes to reasonable adjustments or managing employee absence due to mental health.
Final Thoughts
Mental health training for managers should focus on common conditions like stress, burnout, and anxiety, equipping leaders to spot signs and offer meaningful support.
Don’t overwhelm your managers. Give them tools they can use. Keep it grounded in the human experience. And above all, start with empathy.
Want More Support Designing Your Training?
Download our free guide to Mental Health Training for Managers, packed with questions, prompts, and structure to help you build a mental health training programme that lands.
