Mental Health First Aid teaches participants how to provide initial support to another person who may be experiencing a mental health problem or mental health crisis, until professional help is received, or the crisis resolves. 

Course participants learn about the signs and symptoms of common mental health problems in adults, how to recognise and respond to an emerging or worsening mental health problem and the treatments and supports available. 
 
This course is recognised by Suicide Prevention Australia as a safe, high-quality, and effective suicide prevention program. Participants will gain a formal accreditation and become a mental health first aider, for up to 3 years.

Evidence-based: All Mental Health First Aid courses are based on guidelines that are informed by people with lived experience, their caregivers, and mental health professionals. 

Rigorously evaluated: Evaluations consistently show that Mental Health First Aid training improves participants’ knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatments, and confidence in providing mental health first aid to individuals. 

Skills-based: Mental Health First Aid training teaches the practical skills, knowledge, and confidence to make a difference. 

Internationally recognised: Over 6 million people have been trained in Mental Health First Aid across 25 countries. 

Established in Canberra in 2000, Mental Health First Aid was the brainchild of Betty Kitchener AM and her husband Professor Tony Jorm. In the early days, the course was developed to fill a community gap for practical mental health training, that would parallel the first-aid training provided for physical health. 

Mental Health First Aid has risen to become one of the most trusted, evidence-based mental health education programs in Australia and internationally. 

Evaluation has always been a key focus of the program. The first randomised control trial of MHFA training was conducted in NSW in 2001. Since then, the program has been extensively evaluated and reported on through various trials, peer review and expert consensus within Australia and overseas.  

Just as First Aid training helps a person with no clinical training to assist an individual with a physical ailment, Mental Health First Aid training helps a person assist someone experiencing or developing a mental health problem or experiencing and mental health crisis. In both situations, the goal is to help support an individual until appropriate professional help arrives.  

Like DRABCD, Mental Health First Aiders learn an action plan, used to guide them through actions to assist a person. Participants are also introduced to risk factors and warning signs for mental health problems, build the understanding of the impact of illness on individuals and families, and learn about evidence-supported treatment and self-help strategies. 

Topics covered include: 

Mood Disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, psychosis, substance use disorders.  

Participants are taught how to apply the 5-step action plan in a variety of situations such as helping someone through a crisis and non-crisis situations. An important component of the Mental Health First Aid course is the opportunity to practice the intervention strategy rather than to just learn about it. This simple experience can make it easier to apply the knowledge in a real-life situation. 

We can provide a range of different training options for individuals, group bookings and organisations.    

For individuals, please visit our mental health first aid training page to book your spot in one of our open sessions. 

For group bookings or organisations, please visit our register your interest page and fill in your details. Our Community Education and Training Manager will get in touch to discuss the options.

Your accreditation is due to expire 

If your accreditation is due to expire you can book yourself into complete the refresher course. The refresher course is delivered Face-to-face in one 4-hour session. Please visit our register your interest page and send us your details and our Community Education and Training Manager will get in touch to discuss the options.  

Your accreditation has expired (past the 3 years) 

If your current accreditation is past the 3 years, this means it has expired. You will be required to attend the full course again. Please visit our register your interest page and send us your details and our Community Education and Training Manager will get in touch to discuss the options.  

Yes. Peer reviewed studies from Australia and across the globe show that the program improves the mental health of both the individual administering care and the one receiving it, expands knowledge of mental health challenges and their treatments, increases the services provided and reduces overall stigma toward individuals with mental health or substance use challenges by improving mental health literacy. 

For a cause: We are not for profit, and we do not receive any government funding. We are solely supported by organisations and community members and all profits raised through our training programs is re-invested into vital mental health research.  

Expertly trained: Our facilitators have received extensive training to be able to deliver Mental Health First Aid training based on the most recent and effective evidence-based research. 

Lived experience: There is lived experience within our team of facilitators who will deliver the program with compassion, care, and commitment to empowering you to help those in need. 

Standard MHFA is aimed at adults supporting adults, whilst Youth MHFA is aimed at adults supporting youth.  

Standard covers topics and information specific to adults, whereas the Youth MHFA provides topics and information specific to young people aged between 12 and 18 years.  

For more information on these please visit the below pages:

• Mental Health First Aid Standard
• Mental Health First Aid Youth

There is no prework or requirements needed, prior to becoming a Mental Health First Aider, however it is recommended you read about the course and your role as a mental health first aider, which can be located below.

Please see a list of costs for each program below. Please note we charge per participant.  

Your role as a Mental health first aider, is to offer support to a person experiencing a mental health problem before professional help is received. This may be when a person is developing a mental health problem, when the person is experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem, or it may be a crisis situation. Mental health First Aid is the very first intervention. 

Just like physical first aid, this course does not teach you or qualify you to be the professional, the therapist or the counsellor. This course does not teach you how to diagnose a mental illness, although it will teach you how to identify when someone is experiencing poor mental health and could benefit from a mental health first aid conversation. 

We offer a variety of options available for online, blended face-to-face, or general awareness programs.  

Blended face-to-face 
This is a blend of online self-paced learning and face-to-face. Online learning usually takes between 5-7 hours, which is followed by a 4-hour face-to-face session. 

To read more or register your interest, please visit here.

Online
All training is completed online through self-paced learning and video conferencing with an instructor. Similar to the blended face-to-face, online learning usually takes between 5-7 hours, which is followed by 2x 2.5-hour video conferencing sessions. 

To access any online material, you must have internet and a computer, as well as a working camera and microphone.  

To read more of register your interest please visit here.

Mental Health Awareness Sessions (group or organisation bookings only) 
An alternative to the formal accredited Mental Health First Aid Training, we offer mental health awareness sessions. Mental Health Awareness Sessions are an introduction to Mental Health First Aid Training. It will provide an overview of mental health and the skills to assist and identify the early warnings signs of a mental health problem. The approach is vitally important to be able to use appropriate language; to look at the use of open and closed questions and how to support someone who may be experiencing a mental health problem. These generally run up to 2 hours but can be tailored to meet the needs of organisations and community groups.  

To register your interest please visit here.

Yes, we do. You can send an enquiry by visiting here. Fill in your details and our Community Education and Training Manager will be in contact.  

Please fill in our enquiry form by visiting here and our Community Education and Training Manager will be in contact.