A new service offering mental health training to businesses has launched in Suffolk on World Mental Health Day, as it's revealed wellbeing has worsened for more than two thirds of people.  

The Mental Health Toolkit, delivered by Suffolk Mind, is a series of live virtual training courses to help businesses and organisations promote and support mental wellbeing in the workplace. 

Recent research by Suffolk Mind reveals 65% of people in Suffolk are not meeting their emotional needs as of September 2022, compared to 50% at the start of the year. 

Jon Neal, CEO of Suffolk Mind, said: "The reduction in people meeting their needs is concerning, and shows there is work to be done to highlight the ways we can support our mental wellbeing.  

"As we spend most of our time in the workplace, whether that's in person or remotely, it's important to have a safe environment where our mental health is looked after. 

"With The Mental Health Toolkit, employers can gain the skills needed to ensure their workforce is supported, as well as being able to identify when colleagues are facing challenges." 

The charity says people should aim to meet 12 emotional and physical needs for positive wellbeing, including sleep, movement, community and more. 

Through The Mental Health Toolkit, businesses and individuals have access to various courses including The Essentials, Supporting Colleagues' Mental Health, Sleep Well – Work Well, and Stress Management.  

Each course is designed around helping people meet their needs and giving them the tools to support those arounds them.  

Karen Holmes, Head of Development and Partnerships at Suffolk Mind, said: "The beauty of the training provided by The Mental Health Toolkit is it can be put into practice by anyone. 

"Not only does it provide easily digestible skills to support us in our professional environments, but those skills can also be adopted to our personal lives, as well as being used to support our loved ones.  

"It's not just the people who benefit too. When a business has a happy and well-supported workforce, it will experience improved productivity and staff retention." 

Businesses and organisations interested in training from The Mental Health Toolkit can visit www.thementalhealthtoolkit.co.uk or email [email protected].