What is Mental Health First Aid?

Would you know how to help?

Mental health first aid is the help provided to a person who is developing a mental health problem, or who is in a mental health crisis (eg, the person is suicidal or has had a traumatic experience). Like physical first aid, mental health first aid is given until the person receives professional help or until the crisis resolves.

We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Mental ill health can strike at any time and can affect people from all walks of life.
Although things are improving, stigma still exists around mental ill health. As a society, we don’t tend to know how to take care of our mental health like we do our physical health.

This means that people may not know how to support a friend, family member or colleague experiencing a mental health issue, or where to go for support with their own mental health.

Safety First Aid won’t teach you to be a therapist, but it will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis – and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.

You’ll learn to recognise warning signs of mental ill health, and develop the skills and confidence to approach and support someone while keeping yourself safe.

You’ll also learn how to empower someone to access the support that they might need for recovery or successful management of symptoms.

This could include websites, accessing therapy services, their GP, their school or place of work, online self-referral, support groups, and more.

What is more important, you’ll gain an understanding of how to support positive wellbeing of your family, friends and work colleagues and to tackle the Mental Health stigma in the world around you.

Course Cost: $350