Mental health training for hospital staff
We Can Talk’s award-winning one-hour e-learning amplifies staff’s existing expertise, supporting them with the context and confidence to apply their core skills to people in mental health crisis.
We’ve spent the last eight years working with over one hundred hospitals to understand how impact education drives changes in mental health culture. What began as a one-day, in-person training focused on young people is now a one-hour, self-directed e-learning built for staff in all roles, supporting patients of all ages.
We’re now scaling our solution by working directly with hospital trusts — because local ownership creates the greatest impact.
Join us in transforming mental health culture in acute hospital settings.
Mental health culture change
Creating system-wide transformation
- Underpinned by the world’s largest dataset of hospital staff’s experience of mental health
- Proven improvements in staff well-being and patient experience
- Measurable reductions in incidents, complaints, and staff absence
✓ Satisfaction
✓ Safety
✗ Incidents
✗ Burnout
Start your journey
Learn more about our offer
We Can Talk has supported more than 35,000 hospital staff since 2017 to gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to respond to mental health needs with compassion, confidence, and care.
Our one-hour, self-directed e-learning is designed specifically for hospital staff in all job roles, supporting patients of all ages. Our evidenced-based education framework helps staff build trust to enhance communication, recognise and manage distress to ensure safety, and promote empowerment in every patient interaction.
After four years in an exclusive contract with NHS England we’re now partnering directly with organisations that want to make mental health support an area of outstanding practice. Use the contact form to let us know how we can work with you to transform care.
Not just another mental health course
Impact education
Hospitals are now the frontline of a mental health crisis. There are more patients in distress; more complexity on wards and in waiting rooms. And staff are absorbing the emotional impact — without the training, support or confidence to respond
We Can Talk supports staff to understand distress, respond with confidence, and use their existing skills to provide safe, compassionate care. Mental health patients will continue to walk through the doors of acute hospitals — often in visible crisis, often with complex needs.
Education isn’t the whole answer, but it has to be part of your response. Mental health training for hospital staff is now a requirement for the job. This is about improving safety, reducing burnout, and making care feel human — for patients, and for staff.
Transforming the hospital workforce
-
I found out about We Can Talk because I work closely with mental health patients when they come in, I just needed a bit more understanding.
I wish I’d done the training a long time
ago.
Ken
Security Officer
-
We get so many mental health cases coming in and it's hard to know what to say. We Can Talk opened my eyes, not judging what they've come in for but what they've had to go through.
Leanne
Nurse
-
It is a tough subject and ask for our people. However, I felt like we were in this together, and I’d recommend this approach to anyone who needs to see real change – I can now confidently say it’s not impossible.
Ian
NHS Director
Transform the experience of staff, and patients.
Built for scale, designed for impact
Strategic investment
We Can Talk is available as an organisational subscription designed to deploy at scale and maximise impact.
Developed exclusively for acute hospitals to ensure all staff, students, volunteers, and subcontractors (e.g., security, domestic) can provide consistent mental health support, creating a transformative experience for both staff and patients.
£9,999
(inc VAT)
For 12 months access, unlimited licenses, compliance and impact reporting (pricing for 90% of NHS trusts).
£19,999⁺
Custom pricing
Multiple sites, group trusts, or organisations with unique requirements.
-
Analysis
Effectiveness and Experience (NHS Oversight Framework series): The Hidden Crisis of Patient Experience
Read more
Read more
-
Analysis
Access to Services (NHS Oversight Framework series): The Mental Health Crisis in Emergency Care
Read more
Read more
-
Event
Register: NHS Oversight Framework and Mental Health in Acute Hospitals
Read more
Read more
Meet the team
We Can Talk exists to empower hospital staff with the knowledge, skills and confidence to provide outstanding mental health support.
Robin Barker
CEO & Founder, We Can Talk
Registered Nurse (Mental Health)
-
Michelle Johnson MBE
Executive Director,
NHS Supply Chain
Advisory Board,
We Can Talk
-
Dr Ann York
Co-Founder, CAPA
Advisory Board,
We Can Talk
-
Dagmar Suissa
Ex-CHRO, NN Group
Advisory Board,
We Can Talk
-
Anand Sharma
Lived Experience Advisor, We Can Talk
-
Mali Twiddy
Lived Experience Advisor, We Can Talk
-
Stuart Dodzo
Lived Experience Advisor, We Can Talk
-
Olivia Windsor
Lived Experience Advisor, We Can Talk
-
Natalie Hodgson
Hospital Advisor,
We Can Talk
-
Caroline Johnson
Mental Health Advisor, We Can Talk
-
Annie Herlihy
Education Advisor,
We Can Talk
-
Ilyas Sagar, PhD
Data Analyst,
We Can Talk
-
Ellen Tristram
Project Support Officer, We Can Talk
Join us to transform mental health support in hospitals.
Take the first step to ensure your organisation is part of our plans.
