Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid is the help provided to a person developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.  Just like physical first aid is provided until medical treatment can be obtained, Mental Health First Aid is given until appropriate support is found or until the crisis is resolved.

We run public sessions of Mental Health First Aid, or you can contact us about bringing Mental Health First Aid to your community or workplace.

Why choose to take Mental Health First Aid through the Canadian Mental Health Association Vancouver-Fraser?

Our Master Mental Health First Aid Trainers bring you top-quality training to you in a comfortable and safe training space.

How Mental Health First Aid Helps

• Preserves life where a person may be a danger to themselves or others.
• Provides help to prevent the mental health problem from developing into a more serious state.
• Promotes the recovery of good mental health.
• Provides comfort to a person experiencing a mental health problem.

Upcoming Trainings

November 14 & 15, 2024 (8:30 am – 12 pm)  MHFA Standard (Virtual) Register

January 23 & 24, 2025 (8:30 am – 12 pm)  MHFA Standard (Virtual) Register

February 27 & 28, 2024 (8:30 am – 12 pm)  MHFA Standard (Virtual) Register

April 2 & 3, 2024 (8:30 am – 12:30 pm)  MHFA Supporting Youth (Virtual) Register

MHFA Basic

MHFA Basic is intended for adults interacting with adults (18 years and older). This course focuses on the four most common mental health disorders including substance-related, mood-related, anxiety and trauma-related, and psychotic disorders. Participants who take this course are well prepared to interact confidently about mental health with their family, friends, communities, and workplaces.

MHFA Adults Who Interact with Youth

MHFA Adults Who Interact with Youth is intended for an adult audience whose primary focus is youth (aged 14-25). In addition to the four most common disorders discussed in MHFA BASIC, this course includes instruction about eating disorders and deliberate self-injury. Participants who take this course are well prepared to interact confidently about mental health with the young people in their lives, including at schools, extra-curricular activities, social services, with family, friends, and communities.

MHFA Seniors

Canada has an aging population. As of July 1, 2015, there were more people aged 65 years and older in Canada than children under the age of 15 years. The likelihood of experiencing a mental health problem or illness in a given year increases as of age 69 and currently, men aged 80 and older have the highest suicide rates in Canada.

MHFA Seniors is an adaptation of the MHFA Basic course that is intended to increase the capacity of seniors, families (informal caregivers), friends, and staff in care settings and communities to promote mental health in seniors, prevent mental illness and suicide wherever possible in seniors and intervene early when problems first emerge.

The course content and resource materials are based on the best available evidence and practice guidelines and were developed in consultation with Canadian experts in the field of geriatric psychiatry. The curriculum was developed for the Mental Health Commission of Canada at Trillium Health Partners, a healthcare organization that prioritizes seniors’ health and wellness.

MHFA Standard (Virtual)

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.

Course participants will learn how to recognize signs that a person may be experiencing a decline in their mental well-being or a mental health crisis and encourage that person to:

• Talk about declines in their mental well-being
• Discuss professional and other supports that could help with recovery to improve mental well-being
• Reach out to these supports
• Assist in a mental health or substance use crisis
• Use MHFA actions to maintain one’s own mental well-being

Topics:

Module 1: Self-Directed

• Introduction to the course
• Introduction to MHFA actions

Module 2: Virtual Classroom

• Practice applying MHFA actions to situations of declining mental well-being
• Guidelines for MHFA conversations with people from diverse cultures and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community

Module 3: Virtual Classroom

• Discussion on using MHFA actions for self-care
• Practice using MHFA actions in crisis situations

Method of Instruction

This 9-hour course opens with a self-directed module (Module 1) that focuses on the information and strategies that participants will discuss and practice throughout the virtual classroom modules (Modules 2 and 3). Course participants are required to complete Module 1 before participating in Module 2 and 3. About 2 weeks prior to the live training, participants will receive an email from their facilitator containing the “MHFA Participant Reference Guide” that outlines MHFA actions for developing mental health and substance use problems, and mental health and substance use crises. This email will also explain how to complete Module 1 and how to sign in to the live training.

NEW! MHFA Supporting Youth (Virtual)

MHFA Supporting Youth (Virtual) It is most relevant in situations when it is first becoming apparent to an adult that a young person in their family, classroom, or other network is developing a mental health problem. However, the course also provides some useful information on how to assist a young person who has a history of a mental illness or longer-term mental health and/or substance use problems, as well as how to support a young person in crisis. “MHFA – Supporting Youth” is a course designed for members of the public who have frequent contact with young people (ages 12 to 24).

Participants will learn how to:

• recognize signs that a young person may be experiencing a decline in their mental well-being or a mental health or substance use crisis
• initiate conversations that encourage a young person to talk about a mental health or substance use problem
• discuss professional and other supports that could help with recovery to improve mental well-being
• assist in a mental health or substance use crisis situation
• check-in with one’s own mental well-being and take action as needed

To learn more about bringing Mental Health First Aid training to your community or workplace, please contact us at 778-986-2524 or courses.vf@cmhavf.ca. Or, leave us a message by submitting the form below.

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