What will MHFA teach me?

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

You will 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.

Using a practical, evidence-based action plan, you will learn how to approach someone you are concerned about and initiate a conversation about those concerns. Participants also learn how to offer initial support and information and how to encourage the person to seek professional help or other supports.

Adults who complete the course become Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAiders), equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and skills to provide someone with mental health information and support when it matters most.

You will learn about:

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Psychosis

• Substance use issues

• A structured framework to be able to confidently have these conversations

• Statistics about Mental health in the community and Australia.

The skills learned in this course will give you a strong understanding of these conditions and arm you with the tools to be able to provide acute care for a person suffering from these illnesses. You may be faced with situations in your workplace, community or immediate environment, that will include a person suffering from a mental illness. And remember, this isn’t to fix their issue or illness, it is to provide an emergency response to their current situation until further help can be sought, just as we do with First Aid when someone is sick or injured.