On the coattails of World Mental Health Day, let’s start a conversation about an innovative and accessible form of mental health training: mental health first aid (MHFA).
What is MHFA?
The program is designed to provide mental health education, including information on signs, symptoms, and treatment resources for a variety of mental health issues. Individuals are trained with crisis first aid skills for situations involving substance overdose, suicidal behaviour, panic attacks, acute stress reactions, and psychotic episodes.
It also trains first responders to encourage someone to seek professional mental health care.
Now, let me be clear—MHFA does not intend to provide treatment training or turn people into mental health professionals. The first aid focuses on the basics of recognizing, assessing, and responding to a mental health emergency.
MHFA is also available in specialized courses for veterans, Indigenous peoples, youth, and seniors to elaborate on mental health issues common to each subgroup.
The acronym: ALGEE
Like the ABCs that help you remember how to assess a victim’s breathing in a standard first aid course, MHFA has its own acronym. Although it may sound slightly off-topic (perhaps that’s part of the memory trick), the five steps for a mental health first aid response are remembered by ALGEE:
Assess for risk of suicide or harm
Listen non-judgmentally
Give reassurance and information
Encourage appropriate professional help
Encourage self-help and other support strategies
Who should get MHFA training?
The better question is who shouldn’t get MHFA training?
About a third of Canadians will experience mental health issues in their lifetime, according to the Mental Health Commission of Canada. And yet, not everyone is well informed about different areas of mental health, what they look like, or what resources are available.
When you break your leg, suddenly your mom brings you groceries, your friends send their love, and staying in on a Friday night to watch Netflix and order pizza is not so taboo. On the flip side, when the injury or pain is invisible to those around you, the guidelines on how to react are vague at best.
I’ve had friends go in and out of dark days, and in many instances, I wish I’d had this knowledge—even if just to participate, to be there with them, empathize, and ideally to help guide them towards the light.
Want to learn more?
Check out Carleton’s page and MHFA courses offered here.
Or go straight to the source and check out Canada’s MHFA website.
