Purpose

Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour training course designed to give members of the public key skills to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. Just as CPR training helps a layperson without medical training assist an individual following a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid training helps a layperson assist someone experiencing a mental health crisis.

Educational Need

Most of us would know how to help if we saw someone having a heart attack — we’d start CPR or call 9-1-1. But too few of us would know how to respond if we saw someone having a panic attack or showing signs of alcoholism. 

Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge or crisis. It takes the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health or substance use by improving understanding and providing an action plan that teaches people to safely and responsibly identify and address a potential issue.

The evidence behind Mental Health First Aid demonstrates that it makes people feel more comfortable managing a crisis situation and builds mental health literacy — helping the public identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness. Specifically, studies found that those who trained in Mental Health First Aid have greater confidence in providing help to others, greater likelihood of advising people to seek professional help, improved concordance with health professionals about treatments, and decreased stigmatizing attitudes.

Peer-reviewed studies have been conducted around the world and show that individuals trained in the program:

• Grow their knowledge of signs, symptoms and risk factors of mental illnesses and addictions.
• Can identify multiple types of professional and self-help resources for individuals with a mental health or substance use challenge.
• Increase their confidence in and likelihood to help an individual in distress.
• Show increased mental wellness themselves.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Recognize the potential risk factors and warning signs for a range of mental health problems, including: depression, anxiety/trauma, psychosis and psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, and self-injury. 
• Use a 5-step action plan to help an individual in crisis connect with appropriate professional help.
• Interpret the prevalence of various mental health disorders in the U.S. and the need for reduced negative attitudes in their communities.
• Apply knowledge of the appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help resources available to help someone with a mental health problem treat and manage the problem and achieve recovery.