Caroline Hounsell

Caroline Hounsell is Director of Product Development, Partnerships and Training at community interest company Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England.

Caroline was one of the first MHFA England Instructors to be trained and joined the national MHFA England training team in 2007, taking on the role as national Quality Assurance Lead in 2012. In 2015 she was appointed into a new role as MHFA England’s Director of Business and Partnerships, which subsequently evolved into her current role as Director of Product Development, Partnerships and Training.

During her time at MHFA England, Caroline has been involved with the design, content development and writing across a range of MHFA courses, including Youth MHFA, Armed Forces MHFA and Higher Education MHFA. She led on the development of the updated Adult MHFA product in 2016 and continues to drive development of MHFA England’s whole portfolio of courses.

With a previous background as a careers consultant and psychometric testing expert for schools across Europe and UK, Caroline has a clear understanding of how MHFA fits into education. Caroline also leads on the Youth in Schools programme announced by Prime Minister Theresa May that will bring MHFA into every secondary school in the country between 2017-2020. She also has lived experience of being a young carer for a family member who had mental health issues.

Caroline has delivered MHFA training to numerous large organisations, including NHS England and Public Health England and sits on several key mental health governance groups spanning statutory and voluntary sectors.

As an accredited British Association Counselling Psychotherapist (BACP) qualified in 2006, Caroline draws on the experience gained through her private practice to further develop her knowledge and skills as a mental health professional. Caroline is also a regular speaker at conferences and is an all-round advocate of MHFA.