Description

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

In the MHFA course, you will gain a solid understanding of the 5 basic actions of ALGEE:

Assess the risk of suicide and/or harm
Listen non-judgmentally
Give reassurance
Encourage professional support
Encourage other supports

ALGEE is the framework for having a confident conversation about mental health with family, friends, colleagues, and strangers.

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 is provided to individuals in crisis or experiencing a mental health problem.

Crisis first aid skills learned

• Substance overdose
• Suicidal behavior
• Panic attack
• Acute stress reaction
• Psychotic episode

Topics Covered

1. Mental Health and Stigma

• What is Mental Health First Aid?
• Common mental health problems 
• Five basic actions of mental health first aid
• Stigma and discrimination

2. Substance-related disorders

• What is a substance-related disorder?
• Signs and symptoms
• Risk factors
• MHFA for substance-related problems
• Crisis first aid for overdose
• Treatment and resources

3. Mood-related disorders

• What is a mood-related disorder?
• Types of mood-related disorders
• Signs and symptoms
• Risk factors
• Substance use and mood disorders.
• Suicide in Canada
• MHFA for mood-related problems
• Reasons for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI)
• MHFA for non-suicidal self-injury
• Treatment and resources

4. Anxiety and trauma-related disorders

• Disorders?
• Types of anxiety and trauma-related disorders
• Signs and symptoms
• Risk factors
• Substance use and anxiety-related disorders.
• MHFA for anxiety and trauma-related problems
• Crisis first aid for panic attacks
• Crisis first aid for acute stress reactions
• Treatment and resources

5. Psychotic disorders

• What is a psychotic disorder?
• Types of psychotic disorders
• Signs and symptoms
• Risk factors
• Substance use and psychotic disorders.
• MHFA for anxiety problems
• Crisis first aid for psychotic episodes

This session is taught by a Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) certified instructor.

MHFA Canada is a program of the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC). The MHCC collaborates with hundreds of partners to change the attitudes of Canadians toward mental health problems and illnesses and to improve services and support. Over 400,000 people in Canada have been trained in MHFA.

Delivery Method: Classroom Delivery 

Course Fee Includes:  Access to the course, course materials, and a digital certificate upon completion.