Exmet Mental Health First Response ®
Created from experience, Built for real conversations
Informed by real operational experience. Designed for real workplaces.
Mental Wellbeing First Response® gives people the practical skills and confidence to recognise when someone may be struggling, start a conversation, listen effectively and know what to do next.
Designed for organisations, teams and individuals — including those working in demanding, high-pressure and safety-critical environments.
You don't need to be a mental health professional to have a conversation that genuinely helps someone
When somebody is struggling, the first person they speak to is often not a counsellor, psychologist or doctor.
It may be a colleague.
A manager.
A friend.
Someone sitting beside them during a coffee break.
Or simply the person who notices that something doesn't seem quite right.
What happens in that first conversation can matter.
Exmet Mental Health First Response gives people the confidence, knowledge and practical skills to notice, connect, listen, support and signpost — while understanding the boundaries of their role.
About the Founder
Andy
Founder & Lead Instructor
Andy brings together experience from two demanding professional environments — policing and aviation — alongside practical experience supporting mental wellbeing in the workplace.
He served for 30 years as a police officer in London, developing a first-hand understanding of the pressures faced by people working in challenging, unpredictable and sometimes traumatic environments.
Today, Andy continues his involvement within policing as a Mental Health First Aid Responder within a UK police force, providing peer support to colleagues who may be experiencing difficulties.
He has also developed a professional career in aviation, providing another perspective on human wellbeing and performance within highly regulated, safety-critical environments where standards and expectations are necessarily high.
These experiences — policing, aviation, training and workplace mental health support — ultimately led to the development of Mental Wellbeing First Response®
How do we give ordinary people the confidence to respond when somebody in front of them is struggling?
Why we created Exmet Mental Health First Response
People don't always need somebody to fix things. Sometimes they need somebody who notices, asks, listens — and knows what to do next.
My understanding of mental wellbeing hasn't come solely from the academic qualifications in Mental Health First Aid that I have or training courses. It has also come from a lifetime spent working with people in demanding environments.
I spent decades working as a front line police officer in London as well as years working professionally in aviation in the cockpit and as an instructor.
They are very different worlds, but they have something important in common. Both can place considerable demands on people. Responsibility matters. Performance matters. Decisions matter.
I've supported colleagues through difficult and sometimes traumatic situations and crises, but I've also helped people quietly dealing with the ordinary pressures of being human — stress, relationships, bereavement, anxiety, exhaustion, family difficulties and sometimes simply reaching the point where everything felt too much.
My connection with policing and workplace wellbeing continues today through my role as a Mental Health First Aid Responder within a UK police force and in aviation training companies.
Companies need their staff to be as resilient and as effective as possible - mental health first responder training enables that.
Operational Policing
30 years experience managing high-pressure environments and critical human needs.
Aviation Instructor
Applying specialist wellbeing protocols within highly regulated, safety-critical sectors.
Active Response
Continuous hands-on engagement as a qualified Mental Health First Aid Responder in a UK Police Service
Evidence-Based
Bridging operational reality with effective, validated psychological support frameworks.
Meet the Team
-2026-01-12%20at%2013_41_38.png)
Don Francis
Lead Veterinarian
info@mysite.com
Ashley Jones
Veterinary Technician
info@mysite.com
Tess Brown
Veterinarian
info@mysite.com