About
Meet Tania
Hello and welcome! I’m Tania Gutierrez, Founder of Mental Health Training Essentials
I’m a Licensed Mental Health First Aid® (MHFA™) Instructor, Principal Master. This means I have extensive experience delivering MHFA workshops since 2013. I have also built a Community of Practice, allowing clients to have a choice of Instructors.
My why
I am on a mission to grow the number of people in the community that have confidence, skills and knowledge to provide initial support for people experiencing mental health concerns or experiencing a related crisis. One day you might even use the skills and knowledge to support your own mental health.
My experience
My life experience includes supporting family members through episodes of anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide and suicide attempts. At times, I too have had my own mental health concerns. Since 2009, I’ve been involved with Lifeline Australia’s 24/7 Crisis Support and Suicide Prevention service.
This has included being a:
- Crisis Supporter
- Suicide Hotspot Responder
- In-Shift Supervisor
- Trainer and Assessor of Crisis Supporters.
I’ve worked as a Carer Advocate and volunteered with Family Drug Support at different times during this period.
My passion
I am in my element, delivering Mental Health First Aid and suicide prevention workshops, often on behalf of not-for-profit organisations and private training organisations to:
- University students and staff
- Government departments
- Human Resources professionals
- Corporate groups
- Staff from Aged Care facilities and many others!
I founded Mental Health Training Essentials to spread the reach of excellent evidence-based training, to more members of the public and to more workplaces.
My message
This training is for you if: You are a decision maker, leading people in your organisation. Managers in Human Resources, People and Culture or Learning and Development. Mental Health First Aid training can assist with creating mentally healthy workplaces and provide valuable professional development for staff.
This training is also for you if: You are within our community and interested to use Mental Health First Aid skills, much like you would use traditional physical first aid, to support your friends, family or community members.
One day you might even use the skills and knowledge to support your own mental health.
My message to you is loud and clear – you don’t have to be a mental health professional to provide initial help for mental health concerns and crises. First aid skills for mental health are as important as traditional physical first aid skills from my experience and in my humble opinion.
Our Vision
To grow the capacity of Australians to support
each other when we need it most.
Our Mission
To collaboratively create mentally healthy workplaces
and communities, who are able to provide initial help for suicide prevention and better mental health journeys.
Our Values
Support: Providing collaborative support to corporations, individuals and groups.
Integrity: We are honest and transparent, and expect the same in return. We strive for excellence in the services we provide and the relationships we develop.
Kindness: It is safe to assume that everyone is going through something, so we treat people with compassion, empathy, non-judgement and patience. Our logo is representative of our considerate and heart-centred approach.
Diversity: We appreciate the diversity that exists in the Australian community, including the diversity of religion, culture, linguistics, sex, sexuality, gender and ability/disability. In saying that, we take this opportunity to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
About Mental Health First Aid® Australia
Mental Health First Aid Australia is a national not-for-profit organisation focused on mental health training and research. Their core work is to develop MHFA™ courses, and train Instructors like myself to deliver these courses to their communities or workplaces.
MHFA courses are delivered across Australia and internationally. MHFA courses teach members of the public how to provide initial help to a person who is developing a mental health problem, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or in a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate professional help is received, or the crisis resolves.