“When First Aid came into existence, the concept of teaching the average citizen to apply pressure to a wound saved people’s lives. Mental Health First Aid will do something similar, by assisting people in making the right kind of decisions.” — Mental Health First Aid Canada Participant
Mental Health First Aid is help provided to a person developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.
Just as physical first aid is administered to an injured person before medical treatment can be obtained, Mental Health First Aid is given until appropriate treatment is found or until the crisis is resolved.
The program aims to improve mental health literacy, and provide the skills and knowledge to help people better manage potential or developing mental health problems in themselves, a family member, a friend or a colleague.
In the 12 hour course, Mental Health First Aid Canada teaches people how to:
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health problems
- Provide comfort to someone with a mental health problem
- Provide initial help and reassurance
- Guide a person towards appropriate professional help
Mental Health First Aid shares the same overall purpose as traditional first aid – to save lives. It aims to:
- Preserve life where a person may be a danger to themselves or others.
- Provide help to prevent the mental health problem from developing into a more serious state.
- Promote the recovery of good mental health and reduce stigma.
Mental Health First Aid Basic:
April 29th & 30th/2019, 8:30am-4:00pm, St. Paul’s Hospital
- Registration form for April course: MHFA Basic Registration Form April 2019
Mental Health First Aid for Adults Interacting with Youth:
For further information contact:
Brenda Beaudry – MHFA Adults who Interact with Youth, MHFA Seniors, MHFA Basic
Jenna Neufeld – MHFA Basic
Chalaine Senger – MHFA Basic
Canadian Mental Health Association – Saskatoon Branch Inc.
Phone: 306 384-9333
Fax: 306 978-5777
Email: bbeaudry@cmhasaskatoon.ca or jneufeld@cmhasaskatoon.ca or csenger@cmhasaskatoon.ca
Mental Health First Aid for 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, 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 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 organizations which priorities seniors’ health and wellness.
For information about Mental Health First Aid Canada please visit www.mentalhealthfirstaid.ca
MHFA is a program of the Mental Health Commission of Canada.