If you have decided to train your team in mental health, the next question is usually which course. There are three on our list, and they are built for different jobs. This post explains the difference so you can choose with confidence.
The short version: awareness is for everyone, the ambassador course is for the people colleagues are most likely to turn to, and the wellbeing ambassador course is for people who will help shape how your whole workplace looks after its people.
Mental Health Awareness: for everyone
Mental Health Awareness is our half-day course, about 3.5 hours of training. It is an accessible introduction for people at any level of your organisation.
It helps learners:
- Understand what mental health is and how poor mental health can affect people
- Recognise possible signs that someone may be struggling
- Understand stigma, and why reducing it matters
- Know how someone who needs help can find it
- Feel more confident talking about mental health appropriately
Choose it when you want everyone in the business to share the same basic understanding and a more open culture, or when you are starting from scratch and want a first step that is quick to put in the diary.
Workplace Mental Health Ambassador: for the people others turn to
Workplace Mental Health Ambassador is a one-day course, about 7 hours of training. It is more practical and more focused on the workplace.
On top of the awareness basics, learners look at:
- How a Mental Health Action Plan can support someone at work
- Professional support, and how to signpost colleagues to it
- How to start a supportive conversation about suicide, and where to find help
- Workplace responsibilities for mental health
- Good practice for supporting someone to stay in work, or return to it
Choose it for managers, team leaders, HR and people teams, and anyone colleagues naturally go to when something is wrong.
Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing Ambassador: for those leading the culture
Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing Ambassador is our two-day course, about 14 hours of training. It covers everything in the one-day course and goes further.
Learners also explore:
- Stress and wellbeing in more depth
- Health inequalities, and more complex mental health conditions
- How mental health relates to workplace responsibilities and the law
- How to promote positive wellbeing across the workplace
- The role of an ambassador, including boundaries and looking after yourself
Choose it for people who will take an active role in wellbeing at work: wellbeing champions, HR and people professionals, and managers who want to lead on it.
What about mental health first aid courses?
You may have come across the term "mental health first aid". It is widely used, and several organisations run courses with that name. Ours are different. Each of our courses is accredited by the FAIB (First Aid Industry Body) and taught to FAIB learning outcomes, and they are called awareness and ambassador courses because that is what they are.
Different providers use different names for the people they train, so it helps to look at the job rather than the title:
- A "first aider" role borrows the language of physical first aid. The idea is that someone nearby is trained to notice when a colleague is struggling and to respond in the first moments, before professional help is involved.
- An "ambassador" role is as much about the workplace as the individual. An ambassador learns to spot the signs, start supportive conversations and signpost to the right help, and also helps their organisation become more open about mental health.
In both cases the person is not a counsellor or a therapist. They are someone colleagues can trust, who knows what to say, where their role ends, and where to point people next.
When you compare courses from any provider, ask how long they are, who delivers them, what the certificate covers and for how long, and whether they fit the job you have in mind. If you want people who are trained, confident and clear on where their role starts and ends, our ambassador courses are built for exactly that.
A simple way to decide
- You want the whole team on the same page: start with Mental Health Awareness.
- You want trained people managers and colleagues can go to: choose the Workplace Mental Health Ambassador course.
- You want people who will help lead wellbeing across the business: choose the two-day Mental Health and Wellbeing Ambassador course.
Many workplaces combine them. Awareness for everyone, plus the ambassador course for managers and a few chosen colleagues, is a sensible and affordable pattern.
Good to know about all three
- Taught on site at your workplace, or online via Teams, Zoom or Google Meet
- Up to 12 people with one trainer, or up to 24 with two
- No entry requirements
- FAIB certificate, valid for 3 years
Mental health training is not about turning people into therapists. It is about awareness, early support and knowing how to point someone towards professional help.
Talk to us
Not sure what suits your workplace? Tell us about your team and what you want to achieve, and we will point you to the right course. You can also read our guide to first aid and mental health training together.
Written by Graham Hepburn and Rachel Hawkins, FAIB-registered trainers at H2H Training. Last reviewed October 2026. Graham on LinkedIn Rachel on LinkedIn
