Mental Health First Aid -  Has been designed to teach general community about mental illness.  Many of us, through strong public awareness campaigns, have a greater understanding of other illness for example:  asthma, diabetes, heart problems and cancer, to name a few.  Unfortunately, mental illness is still very misunderstood.  The course aims to teach the participants a basic understanding and knowledge about mental illness, which includes depression, anxiety, psychosis and substance use disorder.  By gaining such knowledge it is hoped that increasing the mental health literacy of the Australian public wil reduce the stigma and myths assoicated with mental illness.

The course does not teach you to:  diagnose perople, to work as a professional eg: counsellor, therapist etc, about medicaitons (information supplied at a basic level only).

Who should attend the course?:  Anybody in the community\workplace who wants to develop an understanding about mental illnesses and enhance their quality of public relations.  Anybody who wants to learn how to recognise the early signs and symptoms of different mental illnesses.  Anybody who wans to gain the knowledge to assist in giving help in the initial stages of a crisis situation before professional help is sought.

The course is not designed for:  Someone who is presently experiencing disabling mental health problems.  Someone who has an advanced knowledge of mental illnesses, or is a professional in the mental health field.

This training course is provided by qualified and experienced mental health clinicians.

Course Outline

SESSION 1

• Why Mental Health First Aid?
• The 5 Steps of Mental Health First Aid
• Common Mental Health Problems
• What is Depression?
• Symptoms and Causes of Depression

SESSION 2

• Crisis First Aid for Suicidal Behaviour
• Treatment & Resources for Depression
• What are Anxiety Disords? (PTSD, GAD, Social Phobia, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobi, OCD)
• Symptoms & Causes of Anxiety Disorders

SESSION 3

• Crisis First Aid for Panic Attacks
• Crisis First Aid for Acute Stress Reaction
• Treatment and Resources for Anxiety Disorders
• What are Psychotic Disorders? (Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia)
• Symptoms & Causes of Psychotic Disorders

SESSION 4

• Crisis First Aid for Acute Psychosis
• Treatment and Resouces for Psychosis
• What is Substance Use Disorder?
• Symptoms & Causes of Substance Use Disorder
• Crisis First Aid for Overdose
• Treatment and Resources for Substance Use Disorder

Within each section there are also video's that support the information.  Most of the Videos are from a consumers perspective that helps provide a greater understanding of the different mental illnesses and how these illness affect the individual.

Feel free to view and download he course manual on the web - www.mhfa.com.au

The manual will provide you with an outline to the course only.  The course is not limited to its content. 

COST OF MHFA

$120 (per participant inclusive of GST)