Mental Health First Aid is a programme which certifies participants as mental health first aiders in their workplaces. It does not equip people with the tools to diagnose and treat mental illness, but it provides practical information about key mental illnesses so that you can identify risks in the workplace, and provide assistance if someone is experiencing a mental health issue.

What’s in the course?
The course teaches a way of approaching someone who seems to be struggling with a mental health problem, offering support and encouragement to them and linking them with professional help. This is practiced in the course using case studies and examples of the following:
1. Someone experiencing depression
2. Someone experiencing anxiety
3. Someone experiencing psychosis
4. Someone experiencing the effects of an alcohol or substance disorder.

The course also provides a process for dealing with crisis situations when someone needs immediate assistance. We teach how to provide support and a safe environment to someone in crisis, and how we might approach and connect with emergency services as sometimes people need to receive professional help for their own protection, when their situation becomes too overwhelming. These crisis situations include:
1) Someone experiencing suicidal thoughts, feelings or behaviours
2) Someone experiencing a panic attack
3) Someone experiencing a severe psychotic episode
4) Someone experiencing high levels of intoxication (sometimes with aggressive behaviour).