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Building mental health resilience

Gary Walker is wearing a collared shirt and smiling at the camera with a wall of greenery behind him.
Gary Walker is a Mental Health First Aid Aotearoa instructor who believes that early intervention and prevention is important when it comes to mental health.

Gary Walker is this month's Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Aotearoa instructor profile.

He is a mental health and performance coach based in Auckland who is driven by a fascination with behaviour and how we think.

Gary has a bachelor's degree majoring in psychology, a master's in (neurolinguistic programming) NLP and is a registered hypnotherapist. His interest in psychology, human potential and neuroscience has inspired him in his study, work and personal life.

Motivated to make a difference


In June 2022, Gary became an accredited MHFA Aotearoa instructor in the Standard programme, then in 2023 upskilled in the Workplace programme.

He believes that early intervention and prevention is important when it comes to mental health.

“We spend a lot of time in our mental care system needing more ambulances and care for those that hit the bottom, [and] we need to build better fences at the top,” says Gary.

Delivering MHFA workshops


To date, Gary has delivered more than 25 Standard and Workplace MHFA Aotearoa workshops to around 250 people, teaching them how to recognise and respond to someone experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis.

Over the past two years, he has delivered MHFA Aotearoa to a wide range of businesses and organisations including Canon New Zealand, Qantas, Jetconnect, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Wairoa District Council, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Nestle, Countdown, Urgent Couriers and others in collaboration with other instructors and organisations including HumanEx, Bodycare, HSEGlobal and BE360.

“Seeing the change in the participants” as they learn the tools and skills to support others is one of the best things about being a MHFA instructor, says Gary.

“I like the aha moments, the practice and the feeling that comes from helping others.”

Changing lives


As a MHFA Aotearoa instructor, Gary feels that he is part of a community of people making an impact in the life of others.

“Helping people become more resilient, to take better care of themselves, and others at home, work and in the community - that is mental health. We need to train to become mentally healthy - just like our physical health - putting time and care into doing so. This needs to be done consistently.”

Getting started


Gary first found out about MHFA Aotearoa through an Australian organisation that he was working with.

MHFA originated in Australia, launching more than 20 years ago, and is now taught in 29 countries around the world.

“Equating mental health first aid with physical first aid seemed a logical progress,” says Gary, who was also drawn to the evidence and robust research behind the MHFA programme.

MHFA Aotearoa also aligned with his other mahi and interests.

“I also love facilitating group training, so it felt like a natural fit to take my passion and train others to help others.”

Thumbs up from workshop participants


The feedback from Gary’s MHFA workshop participants has been positive:

“Outstanding programme,” said one. “Perfectly delivered by Gary. The break outs and interactiveness were fantastic. Highly recommend to any one or other organisations.

Another person said: “The course was amazing, loved it. Gary was a very clear and engaging tutor. Definitely feeling was more confident and can’t wait to start implementing some changes at my workplace and telling everyone to do this course!”

Become a MHFA Aotearoa instructor


Gary recommends MHFA Aotearoa new instructor training to others.

“If you love the thought of making a difference and looking for a way to scale the way you can make a difference. If each of the people you train help just two others - you can help so many more!”

Te Pou took over the New Zealand license for MHFA Aotearoa in July 2020, and since then more than 200 people have trained to become accredited MHFA Aotearoa instructors.

More than 7500 people been trained as Mental Health First Aiders around New Zealand in the past four years, a sign of the growth of the programme in the community.

  • To find out more about MHFA Aotearoa training, visit mentalhealthfirstaid.nz and look under Events.

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