Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a 12-hour training certification 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. Research evidence demonstrates that participating in the course improves knowledge of mental health conditions, reduces stigma, and increases the amount of help provided to others—helping the public identify, understand and respond appropriately to signs of mental illness. Like CPR training helps a non-medical professional assist an individual following a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid training helps an individual who doesn’t have clinical training assist someone who’s experiencing mental health difficulties.

Mental Health First Aiders learn to apply a single strategy in helping someone through a panic attack, engaging with someone who may be suicidal, supporting a person experiencing psychosis and helping an individual who has overdosed.

The MHFA five-part action plan is known as A-L-G-E-E:

A ssess for risk of suicide or harm

L isten non-judgmentally

G ive reassurance and information

E ncourage self-help and other support strategies

E ncourage appropriate professional help

The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health worked with the program’s founders to bring Mental Health First Aid to the U.S. and now administer its operation in this country.

DBSA is proud to offer Mental Health First Aid training courses by using teams of consumers—the ultimate experts in the experience of mental illnesses and substance use—and clinicians to train key members of the public in Mental Health First Aid skills. This partnership between those who live with these conditions and those who seek to support their recovery adds immeasurably to the legitimacy and power of this public education effort. For more information on Mental Health First Aid, visit http://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/

Two Ways to Participate

1. Register for our next national training course. Learn how you can seek outside funding support for training participation.
2. Sponsor a Mental Health First Aid course in your area. DBSA trains groups of 10-30 on a contract basis. Request additional information.

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