Each year 1 in 5 Australians will experience a mental illness. Many people are not knowledgeable or confident to offer assistance. Physical first aid is accepted and widespread in our community, however most do not cover mental health problems. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) teaches people the skills to help someone who they’re concerned about.
The 12-hour Standard Mental Health First Aid course will teach you how to provide initial support to other adults who may be experiencing a mental health problem or mental health crisis until appropriate professional help is received or the crisis
resolves, using a practical, evidence based Action Plan. This course is based on guidelines developed through the expert consensus of people with lived experience of mental health problems and professionals.
Mental health problems covered:
- Depression
- Anxiety problems
- Psychosis
- Substance use problems
Mental health crises covered
- Suicidal thoughts and behaviours
- Non-suicidal self-injury
- Panic attacks
- Traumatic events
- Severe psychotic states
- Severe effects from alcohol or other drug use
- Aggressive behaviours.
Note: This course is not a therapy
or a support group.
Course Costs
$330 per participant
To secure your space, full payment is required at time of booking.
Large groups and onsite pricing vary, please speak to one of our friendly teams to discuss the available options. Call 1300 897 112 Or click here for a corporate quote
Entry Requirements
There are no prerequisites for this course. Any adult can attend.
Please Note: This course is not a therapy or a support group.
Minimum Age
18 yrs for a Mental Health First Aid Course.
Due to the adult learning environment, we can not accept MHFA registrations for participants under the age of 18.
With physical Provide First Aid participants can be Aged 14 and above with parent/ guardian consent.
Course Includes
Standard Mental Health First Aid course manual and workbook.
Coffee & Tea, Water, Biscuits and Lollies
Course Duration
2 Days (12 hours, excluding break times)
This course has been designed in 4 separate session/ modules,
It can be delivered as a 4 x 3 hours session – upon Corporate request.
Module 1
We are introduced to mental health problems, the MHFA Action Plan, and we will discuss depression and bipolar disorder.
Module 2
We begin with exploring a difficult topic – suicide on how to have that Mental Health conversation and we start exploring at the sign and symptoms of Anxiety.
Module 3
We cover 2 different types of crisis situations.
• We will watch a film and meet Jarrad and Ashlea, who share their experience of living with anxiety.
• We will then look at signs and symptoms of psychosis along with the evidence based treatments.
Module 4
We begin by looking at a person experiencing a severe psychotic state.
• This means that the person is currently experiencing overwhelming delusions and hallucinations, very disorganised thinking and bizarre or disruptive behaviours.
We also look at substance use problems.
This course will not teach you to diagnose a mental illness, nor treat it, just as a conventional first aid course will not teach you to be a doctor.
- You will learn how to recognise that someone may have a mental health problem.
- What you learn will help you to be supportive of them and help them to receive
appropriate professional help as early as possible.
Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) Requirements
Participants will require suitable LLN skills to complete the following tasks/skills:
- Read information from a PowerPoint, Manual and whiteboard
- Listen and understand verbal information delivered by an English-speaking
Mental Health First Aid Accredited Instructor.
Requirements for completion
Participants are required to attend 100% of this first aid training.
To receive accreditation as a Mental Health First Aider you will be required to complete an online assessment following training.
Certification Issued
This course does not form part of a Vocational Education Qualification.
Accreditation is provided by Mental Health First Aid Australia.
On successful completion of the post-training assessment, certification is issued as a Mental Health First Aider.
Certification Validity
* Three (3) years from the date of issue.
(We recommend you use the email address that is still valid in 3 or 6 years time).
* Refresher training is required after 3 years, which is either a 4 hour Face to Face course or 2 x 2.5 hours online video conferencing course.
* In the 6th year, the full course must be completed again.
Evidence-based Courses
Mental Health First Aid Australia (mhfa.com.au) courses are based on evidence of what is best practice mental health first aid to support someone who has a mental health problem or is experiencing a mental health crisis.
This evidence has been developed in partnership with the University of Melbourne, through developing Delphi method guidelines that cover a number of mental health problems, crises and in different contexts.
All MHFA courses are then evaluated, using rigorous scientific methods, to ensure they are having a positive impact.
These evaluations consistently show that MHFA training is associated with improved knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatments, knowledge of appropriate first aid strategies, and confidence in providing first aid to individuals with mental illness, benefits which are maintained over time.
Some studies have also shown improved mental health in those who attend the training, decreases in stigmatising attitudes and increases in the amount and type of support provided to others.
