Short Course: Embedding human rights legal duties in mental health inpatient care
Starting in October 2025, BIHR is excited to be re-running our 3-part training programme focused on implementing the legal duties placed on staff working across mental health services to take a human rights-based approach.
Fill out our enquiry form Find out what participants said about our Spring 2025 course
Why is BIHR running this training programme?
We are thrilled to be re-running this open course, aimed at senior mental health practitioners working with the Mental Health Act, the main piece of legislation covering the assessment, treatment and rights of people experiencing mental distress in England and Wales.
In 2018, an independent review on the Mental Health Act made a range of recommendations for how this law could be reformed to give people more choice over their care and reduce the need for compulsory treatment. Seven years on, a new Mental Health Bill is progressing through parliament, setting out a series of reforms to the Mental Health Act.
The journey towards mental health reform contains a lot of unknowns, but what we do know for certain is that the Human Rights Act is the lens through which all mental health legislation should be applied. This 3-part training course aims to build strong foundational knowledge of the legal duties placed on mental health services by Human Rights Act in order to support human rights-respecting application of mental health law, now and in the future.
BIHR is a leading provider of human rights capacity-building support in the UK. We have decades of experience training staff across health and social care services to feel confident in their understanding of the Human Rights Act and to increase their ability and accountability to uphold people’s rights in practice.
Who is this course aimed at?
This course is aimed at senior mental health practitioners working with the Mental Health Act, the main piece of legislation covering the assessment, treatment and rights of people experiencing mental distress in England and Wales. This includes staff working in NHS mental health trusts across England and Wales (Band 7 or above) and we will consider applications from equivalent roles in local authority mental health teams and in independent mental health inpatient services.
This is not open to individuals paying for themselves. Bookings must be made by the organisation who can put forward suitable candidate(s) – this is because we believe that to achieve meaningful practice change there needs to be a commitment to a human rights-based approach from the wider organisation.
What will the course cover?
This course aims to enhance the knowledge and confidence of senior leaders in mental health care to uphold their legal duties under the Human Rights Act and build a culture of respect for human rights in their service. The ultimate aim of this programme is to ensure that people drawing on mental health services have their human rights respected, protected, and fulfilled.
Over three workshops, participants will:
- Learn about the Human Rights Act, the legal duties it puts on public officials, and how it works alongside mental health legislation.
- Apply key human rights in mental health care, with an exploration of how difficult situations can be navigated by balancing rights.
- Adopt new practical frameworks into the application of policies and processes to guide rights-respecting decision-making across their organisations and help reduce restrictive practice.
Participants will receive a certificate on completion of this 3-part programme - attendance at all three workshops is required to qualify for this.
Please note that this is not training on the Mental Health Act itself. BIHR’s expertise is in the Human Rights Act and how it applies in practice, including alongside other relevant legislation.
Workshop 1
Wednesday 22 October
10am – 12.30pm
Workshop 2
Wednesday 5 November
10am – 12.30pm
Co-delivered with a Lived Experience Expert!
Workshop 3
Wednesday 19 November
10am – 12.30pm
Course Costs
£425 per person*.
Discounts:
- 10% off for block bookings (book 5 spaces and any additional spaces will get a 10% discount, up to 10 spaces per organisation.)
- 5% off for returning BIHR clients (since 2020).
Our Terms & Conditions are available on request and will be shared with organisations who book spaces on this course.
*No VAT is payable on our fees. As a registered charity, BIHR is an eligible body under the VAT Act 1994, Schedule 9, Group 6 and our provision of education and training is therefore exempt from VAT.
How to apply
Step 1: We encourage organisations to send us a booking enquiry via our online form. To complete this form, you’ll need to be someone within your organisation who has the authority to book a training course and/or to have support from a relevant senior leader.
Step 2: BIHR will then get in touch with you by email to check suitability and confirm details, with optional online drop-in meetings available on Monday 15th September.
Step 3: To proceed with your booking, we will then ask you to register online via Ticket Tailor and, when registering, either make payment by card or request an invoice. (Registration and payment will need to be completed no less than 4 weeks before the first workshop).
We are taking bookings until 1pm on Monday 22nd September. There is a limited number of spaces on the course, and bookings are made on a first-come, first-served basis. If we reach the maximum number of participants we may close bookings early.
If the online application form is not accessible to you, or you would like more information about this programme, please email us at training@bihr.org.uk with the subject line ‘Mental Health Short Course’.
Related information
Changing Mental Health Law
Our experience informed research with people involved in accessing or delivering mental health services underpins our policy work on the new draft Mental Health Act.
Changing Mental Health Law
Our experience informed research with people involved in accessing or delivering mental health services underpins our policy work on the new draft Mental Health Act.
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