First Aid for Mental Health course set up by beauty and aesthetics specialist Karen Sargeant

Charlie Oscar, a training company that provides accredited First Aid for Mental Health courses aimed at aesthetics and beauty businesses, has been set up by aesthetics professional Karen Sargeant.

Sargeant is an advanced skin practitioner who has been in the beauty and aesthetics industries for more than 30 years. She founded the company following her own experience with mental health in the workplace.  

First Aid for Mental Health courses are developed to support employers and employees to prioritise mental health. 

The main aims are to:

• Remove the stigma of mental health
• Change the culture towards mental health
• Create kinder happier working environments

Once trained, employees can better spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and provide immediate help. They provide a point of contact for colleagues who raise concerns. 

They also understand their own mental health and how it affects their health, relationships, and productivity.

First Aid for Mental Health qualifications also support the Health & Safety Executive's mental health guidance.

Organisations such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) recognise safeguarding as a key priority for those that use the services they regulate, of which mental health and wellbeing are considered. Accredited courses fit within the CPD framework and appraisal systems.   

The Charlie Oscar team includes industry-specific trainers working in collaboration with medical practitioners and business advisors, all with one primary goal, a desire to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. 

Courses are open to individuals, businesses, corporates, schools and colleges, with various levels. They include:

• FAA Level 1 Award in Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health 
• FAA Level 2 Award in First Aid for Youth Mental Health 
• FAA Level 2 Award in First Aid for Mental Health 
• FAA Level 3 Award in Supervising First Aid for Mental Health 

Depending on your organisational structure and needs, they can deliver training in several ways, including online, onsite and offsite.

Sargeant said, “In our growing aesthetic industry, which is focusing more and more on wellness, we should be leading the way and investing to make our workplaces kinder and healthier and one that positively influences our long-term health. 

“Employers have been under incredible pressure to keep their businesses sustainable with the added responsibility of keeping their staff in work. With poor work-life balance, burnout is a common problem. Under these conditions, relationships with staff and family become strained, and the cycle becomes self-perpetuating. 

“Changing the culture around mental health and promoting an attitude of acceptance and tolerance, the workplace becomes a much healthier place, building resilient and happier people.  

“Employers can make significant changes by incorporating mental health support in the workplace and initiating corporate wellness programmes and training.”

Read more: Did you see Timely has partnered with Tom Chapman to launch virtual mental health training?