Sometimes giving first aid over the phone is the best approach but try to get a feel on who else is home and if it is a good time for them to talk as they may have a deadline or a distraction.

It is possible to hold a meeting and discuss mental health in a stand alone meeting. Consider what you will say the meeting is for - naming the calendar invitation as "your name/their name" might be better than naming it "catch up" because a "catch up" might be ordinary invitation and you want this meeting to be more focused on them, rather than receiving an update on their activities.

It is quite common for mental health discussion to pop up in mealbreaks. For the mental health first aider, you may feel a little off-guard. The reason the person may start to chat about mental health is that they are in a different location and feel a little more comfortable than in the office.

Sometimes all you need to do is encourage the person to take action. They may say they are going to book in to a GP appointment and discuss mental health and you can encourage them to take this step and ask if you could he;p at all.

Supporting the person could come in the form of letting them know you are here for them and they are not alone in facing the situation.

Listening is more than nodding your head and saying hmmm. Listening is allowing some silence and it is putting aside judgment to allow the person to talk through how they are feeling.