Course outline:

Mental Health First Aid

The Importance of supporting the mental health of your team members

1 in 5 Australian adults experiences a mental illness in any given year. Mental ill health costs Australian workplaces $4.7 billion in absenteeism, $1.6 billion in presenteeism and $146 million in compensation claims per year. Only 22% of full-time workers with signs of common mental illness receive treatment for their mental health problems. The bottom line is research shows that it cost's, on average, 2.4 times more to recruit and train a new team member than it does to support them to get well and back on track.

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Program Information
More and more workplaces are realising the impact of mental health problems at work on their people and productivity. Encouraging early help seeking is one way to promote a mentally healthy workplace. This is where Mental Health First Aid can help. Mental health first aid is an evidence-based training course, developed by Mental Health First Aid Australia in partnership with the University of Melbourne, which gives your employees the skills and confidence to have supportive conversations with their co-workers and help guide them to professional help if needed. It has been shown to increase knowledge, confidence and helping behaviours, and reduce stigma.

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Program Content
Mental Health Problems in Australia    

• What is mental health?   

• What are mental health problems   

• Impact of mental Illness    

• Spectrum of interventions

• Professionals who can help

• Recovery

 

Mental Health First Aid    

• Why Mental Health First Aid? 

• The importance of early intervention 

• Mental Health First Aid Action Plan       

 

Depression    

• What is depression?    

• Bipolar disorder    

• Risk factors    

• Interventions

• Crisis associated with depression     

• Mental Health First Aid action plan for depression    

• Helpful resources for depression and suicidal thoughts

 

Anxiety Problems   

• The difference between anxiety problems and anxiety disorders   

• Risk factors    

• Interventions    

• Crisis associated with anxiety disorders    

• Mental Health First Aid action plan for anxiety problems    

• Helpful resources for anxiety problems

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Psychosis

• What is psychosis?

• Mental Illnesses where psychosis can occur

• Risk factors

• Interventions

• Crisis associated with psychosis

• Mental Health First Aid action plan for psychosis    

• Helpful resources for psychosis

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Substance Use Problems

• What are substance use problems?

• Alcohol use problems

• Drug use problems

• Risk factors

• Interventions

• Crisis associated with substance use

• Mental Health First Aid action plan for substance use problems    

• Helpful resources for substance use problems

Course outline:

Mental Health First Aid: Online Learning

Course Description

The Blended Online MHFA Workplace Course has been adapted from the Standard Mental Health First Aid Course for adults. In this informative and practical course you will learn about the signs and symptoms of common and disabling mental health problems in adults, how to provide initial help, where and how to get professional help, what sort of help has been shown by research to be effective, and how to provide mental health first aid in a crisis situation using a practical, evidence-based action plan. This course focuses on the workplace and provides relevant information and tailored scenarios and exercises that will provide participants with the knowledge and skills to provide initial mental health first aid to assist colleagues, clients, and other workplace contacts who may be developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis, and how to connect people needing assistance to existing workplace supports and external professional help.

Developed in response to COVID-19, the new Blended Online MHFA Workplace Course includes two course components.

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Course Component 1  

Self-paced interactive eLearning (5-7 hours)

Developing mental health problems covered include:
• Depression
• Anxiety problems
• Psychosis
• Substance use problems

Mental health crises covered:
• Suicidal thoughts and behaviours
• Non-suicidal self-injury
• Panic attacks
• Traumatic events
• Severe psychotic states
• Severe effects from alcohol or other drug use
• Aggressive behaviour

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Course Component 2

Instructor-led video conferencing (2 x 2.5 hour sessions) follows completion of Course Component 1 – eLearning. Course Component 2 provides course participants with an opportunity to revise content covered in the self-paced eLearning program and to consolidate the application of this content with the development of practical skills in a group environment online.

Course Component 2 provides participants with the opportunity to:
• Revise the eLearning content and the MHFA Action Plan
• Clarify any points of uncertainty remaining after completion of the eLearning modules
• Apply the MHFA Action Plan to relevant scenarios
• Discuss and reflect 'a where to from now' in using mental health first aid skills
• Develop a self-care plan to maintain good mental health.

This course is based on guidelines developed through the expert consensus of people with lived experience of mental health problems and professionals.  

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