If you're thinking about training for your team, you've probably noticed there are plenty of free mental health courses online. Some are perfectly decent as an introduction. So why would a local business pay for a live course, and how do you pick the right person to run it?

Let's walk through it, because the choice makes a bigger difference than most people expect.

What you're actually paying for

A free online course gives you information. A live course with a real instructor gives you a room full of people who can ask the awkward "but what would I actually say?" questions and get an answer there and then.

That matters, because mental health conversations rarely follow a script. Being able to test your worries out loud, hear how colleagues would handle something and have an experienced person guide you is where the confidence comes from. How awesome is that, compared with clicking "next" on a slide?

Questions worth asking before you book

• Are you a certified MHFA England instructor? Ask to see it. Proper certification is the foundation.
• How big are your groups? Smaller rooms mean more questions, more airtime and more support. I cap mine at 12.
• What do your reviews say? Look for comments about how safe people felt, which tells you far more than a list of qualifications.
• Can people ask questions throughout? You want a course where curiosity is welcome, not squeezed in at the end.
• What happens if someone finds a topic difficult? A good instructor has a calm, kind plan for this and will happily tell you what it is.
• Do you work with businesses like mine? Experience with big corporates and with small local teams are different things.

Online or in person?

Both work well, and the right choice depends on your team. If you're based locally, I'm happy to visit your workplace or deliver face to face, which many teams find easier to settle into. If you'd rather keep it flexible, live online courses with a real person in the room (on screen) are every bit as interactive.

The bit people forget

Training is the start. Your first aiders will feel more confident if they've had the chance to practise, ask and be heard. That support is the investment, and it's the thing a free course can't give you.

If you're in Salisbury or the surrounding area and want to talk it through, I'd love to hear from you. I'll even put the kettle on (and there may be cake). My husband still think I just chat to people for a living, which, to be fair, isn't far off!