Making Every Contact Count (MECC) aims to provide advice and support for behaviour change, so that Sefton residents can have better health and live longer healthier lives. We know that staff across health, local authority and voluntary sectors have thousands of contacts every day with individuals and are ideally placed to promote improved wellbeing and healthy lifestyles. The aim of the training is to maximise the opportunities participants have to increase the number and quality of brief interventions in Sefton.
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For staff and volunteers, MECC means having the competence and confidence to deliver healthy lifestyle messages, to help encourage people to change their behaviour and to direct them to local services that can support them. For individuals, MECC means seeking support and taking action to improve their own lifestyle by eating well, finding their healthy weight, drinking alcohol sensibly, exercising regularly, not smoking and looking after their wellbeing and mental health.
MECC is not about
• Adding another job to already busy working days
• Staff becoming specialists or experts in certain lifestyle areas
• Staff becoming counsellors or providing ongoing support to particular individuals
• Staff telling somebody what to do and how to live their life
The training takes place during a 2 hour session and is aimed at everyone working, living or volunteering in Sefton. The content provides an overview for non-health professionals and is particularly useful for front line staff that see lots of people during their work.
The objectives of the training are to;
• Provide an overview of the health and wellbeing of Sefton’s population
• Increase knowledge about the key health messages
• Know what support services are available and what they provide and signpost people to them
• Introduce the skills to have a healthy chat
• Recognise the opportunities to have a healthy chat
• Use the 3A’s to deliver a health chat in Sefton
The Level 2 training also takes place during a 2 hour session. with the skills to deliver a brief intervention. Again, this training is aimed at everyone but more in depth training enables staff to identify opportunities with the skills to deliver a brief intervention encouraging improvement in people’s health behaviours
The objectives of the training are to;
• Build on the skills learned in Level 1
• Introduce skills to have a brief intervention
• Use the 5A’s to deliver a brief intervention in Sefton
• Know what support services are available and what they provide
• The training is suitable for anyone living, working or volunteering in Sefton.
Make Every Contact Count (MECC) for Mental Health is an interactive face to face training programme that helps people develop the confidence, knowledge and skills to have supportive conversations about mental health and wellbeing. Building on the principles of MECC Levels 1 and 2, the training focuses specifically on recognising signs of mental health concerns, reducing stigma, using active listening skills and having meaningful ‘healthy chats’ that encourage positive change. Participants will also learn how to offer empathetic support and signpost individuals to appropriate services and resources.
The training is suitable for anyone living, working or volunteering in Sefton and would benefit from a deeper understanding of mental health and wellbeing support. By recognising that every interaction can be an opportunity to promote wellbeing, the course empowers participants to make a positive difference in their communities, helping people access the right support, at the right time, while fostering a more mentally healthy and supportive environment.
The course takes place over a full day and includes the following learning outcomes in 3 course modules:
• Identify what is meant by mental health, mental wellbeing and mental illness, including recognised definitions, models and frameworks
• Define the MECC approach and explore how this can be applied in health and care settings
• Develop skills and confidence to engage with people about their mental health and wellbeing and support them to understand distressing feelings and experiences
• Develop awareness of local support services and how to effectively signpost service users to the appropriate service
• Develop confidence to understand and implement appropriate signposting pathways including crisis services
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Dates will be available throughout the year and take place in the north and the south of the borough. We highly recommend that staff be released to attend our open sessions as they provide an excellent opportunity for networking with other providers working in Sefton. However, if this is operationally difficult, we can provide sessions to organisations at your location.
Please book your training session below
MECC L1 - Tues 15th September – Southport Community Centre - 1.30pm to 4.30pm
MECC for Mental Health - Wed 9th September - Burlington House, Board Room - 10am to 4.30pm
MECC L2 - Mon 5th October - Burlington House, Board Room - 1.30pm to 4.30pm
MECC L1 - Thurs 5th November - Burlington House, Board Room - 1.30pm to 4.30pm
Please note: we will be charging for non-attendance or late notice cancellation at a flat fee of £20 for all training to cover administration and course material costs. Your company will be invoiced.
If a service is in ‘exception’ which prevents delegates from attending they will not be charged for non-attendance. We must still be informed within one full working day.
If SCVS has to cancel, we will inform you at the earliest opportunity and the session will be rescheduled in due course.
