Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid Basic is intended for adults interacting with adults (18 years and older). This courses focuses on the four most common mental health disorders including substance related, mood related, anxiety and trauma related, and psychotic disorders. Participants who take this course are well prepared to interact confidently about mental health with their family, friends, communities, and workplaces.

Key outcomes

International evaluations and feedback have found the following outcomes for participants undertaking an MHFA course:

  • Increased awareness of signs and symptoms of the most common mental health problems
  • Decreased stigma related to mental health
  • Increased confidence interacting with individuals experiencing a mental health problem or crisis
  • Increased help actually provided to individuals in crisis or experiencing a mental health problem
Crisis first aid skills learned:
  • Substance overdose
  • Suicidal behaviour
  • Panic attack
  • Acute stress reaction
  • Psychotic episode

Please visit the Mental Health First Aid Canada page here.

Virtual Mental Health First Aid (Standard) is the support provided to a person who may be experiencing a decline in their mental well-being or a mental health crisis.

Course participants will learn how to recognize signs that a person may be experiencing a decline in their mental well-being or a mental health crisis and encourage that person to:

  • Talk about declines in their mental well-being
  • Discuss professional and other supports that could help with recovery to improved mental well-being
  • Reach out to these support
  • Assist in a mental health or substance use crisis
  • Use MHFA actions to maintain one’s own mental well-being

Topics

Module 1: Self-Directed

  • Introduction to the course
  • Introduction to MHFA actions

Module 2: Virtual Classroom

  • Practice applying MHFA actions to situations of declining mental well-being
  • Guidelines for MHFA conversations with people from diverse cultures and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community

Module 3 Virtual Classroom

  • Discussion on using MHFA actions for self-care
  • Practice using MHFA actions in crisis situations

Method of Instruction

This 8-hour course opens with a self-directed module (Module 1) that focuses on the information and strategies that participants will discuss and practice throughout the virtual classroom modules (Modules 2 and 3). Course participants are required to complete Module 1 before participating in Module 2 and 3.
Upon registration, participants will receive the “MHFA Participant Reference Guide” that outlines MHFA actions for developing mental health and substance use problems, and mental health and substance use crises.

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