Mental Health First Aid

First aid is the help given to an injured person before medical treatment can be obtained. Mental Health First Aid is the help provided to a person developing a mental health problem or in a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate professional treatment is received or until the crisis resolves.

The most common and disabling mental health problems are depression, anxiety disorders and psychotic disorders. Mental health problems are very common. In any one year about one in five adults experience a mental health problem. Many people suffer a mental illness for a long time before they seek help. Furthermore, alcohol and drug problems frequently occur with depression, anxiety and psychosis.

While people often know a lot about common physical health problems, there is widespread ignorance of mental health problems. This ignorance adds to stigmatizing attitudes and prevents people from seeking help early and seeking the best sort of help. It also prevents people providing appropriate support to colleagues and family members, simply because they do not know how. In order to help people provide initial support for someone with a mental health problem, a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training course has been developed. Course participants have been varied, including teachers, police, nurses, case managers, support workers, social welfare staff, employment agency staff, personnel staff, members of the general public.

This course is a 12-hour course developed in 2000 by Betty Kitchener and Professor Tony Jorm with the aim to improve the mental health literacy of members of the Australian community. It is now auspiced by Orygen Youth Health Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. Participants receive a course manual and also a certificate at the completion of the course. Those who have completed the course have been very positive about the knowledge and skills they have acquired.

The Mental Health First Aid Training and Research Program
The philosophy behind the course is that mental health crises, such as suicidal and self-harming actions, may be avoided through early intervention with people developing mental disorders. If crises do arise, then members of the public can take action to reduce the harms that could result.

The MHFA course has been thoroughly evaluated using randomized controlled trials and a qualitative study and been found to be effective at improving the course participants’ knowledge of mental disorders, reducing stigma, and increasing the amount of help provided to others. To disseminate the course, MHFA Instructors are trained from across Australia, to conduct the 12-hour MHFA course autonomously in their local region. Instructors work for NGOs (e.g. Red Cross, Lifeline, Anglicare), social welfare services (e.g. employment, housing) local area health services, places of employment, or as private practitioners. In view of the innovation and quality of the program, it has won a TheMHS first prize and has spread to a number of other countries, including Scotland, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Registration Information
Tuition Cost:
$150.00 per person

For More Information and Registration Please Contact:
Jerry Acuna at 915.887.3410 ext. 18103 or 915.204.6568 or Email