In today’s world, when many people feel stressed, isolated and overwhelmed, it’s not always easy to know how to help. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) certification gives you the skills to start making a difference. You might be surprised at all you can do with MHFA certification.
Conversations around mental health are becoming more normalized — but that doesn’t make them easy to have. It’s hard to know what to do or say when a friend, family member or colleague is experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge.
If you’ve ever wished you knew how to help someone through a tough moment, you’re not alone. That’s the reason why MHFA was created. It teaches everyday people how to recognize the signs of mental health or substance use challenges, how to offer support and how to connect someone with appropriate help.
The best part? Anyone can learn MHFA.
Becoming a Mental Health First Aider empowers you to make a difference — not as a clinician, but as a compassionate, informed first source of support. It’s a training that can change lives.
So, what can you do with MHFA certification? A lot.
1. Support Those in Need
MHFA gives you the skills and knowledge to help someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use challenge or experiencing a crisis.
By becoming a Mental Health First Aider, you’ll learn early intervention skills and apply them to real-life situations, so you can spot signs that someone might be struggling and get them the support they need. Your actions as a First Aider help create a healthier, more caring community.
It’s important to remember that Mental Health First Aiders do not diagnose or treat mental health conditions. Instead, First Aiders are the first line of support, lending a listening ear and helping people get the professional help they need.
As part of your training, you’ll learn the 5-step MHFA Action Plan (ALGEE):
- A — Assess for risk of suicide or harm. Try to find a suitable time or place to start the conversation with the person, keeping their privacy and confidentiality in mind. If the person does not want to confide in you, encourage them to talk to someone they trust.
- L — Listen nonjudgmentally. At first, many people in distress just want to be heard. Let the person share without interrupting them. Try to empathize with their situation. You can get the conversation started by saying something like, “I noticed [_].” Try to be accepting, even if you don’t agree with what they are saying.
- G — Give reassurance and information. After someone has shared their experiences and emotions with you, be ready to offer hope.
- E — Encourage appropriate professional help. The earlier someone gets help, the better their chances of recovery. Offer to help this person learn more about the options available to them.
- E — Encourage self-help and other support strategies. This includes helping them identify their support network, find programs within the community and create a personalized emotional and physical self-care plan.
There are MHFA courses designed for different communities: You can choose Adult MHFA to help other adults, or Youth MHFA to help young people.
2. Reduce Stigma
MHFA equips you with the skills to help individuals in challenging situations, and it also enables you to do your part to reduce mental health stigma.
Society often holds negative attitudes and behaviors surrounding mental health. This stigma is the pressure that keeps us from talking about mental health or substance use challenges.
Stigma prevents people from speaking up about mental health, but as a First Aider, you can help normalize the mental health conversation. You’ll have the information and resources to support early intervention for people in need.
Reducing stigma around mental health can start as simply as asking someone how they’re really doing. Taking the first step by encouraging honest and open conversation can make a real difference in people’s lives.
3. Be a Mental Health Advocate
First Aiders help make recovery a reality. They believe that mental wellbeing is a state of thriving. It is the foundation of living a strong, healthy and fulfilling life. They believe that mental wellbeing is achievable for everyone — including individuals living with or recovering from a mental health or substance use challenge.
Being a mental health advocate doesn’t just mean having MHFA skills. It means that you are part of a movement to strengthen mental wellbeing for everyone, every day, in small and big ways.
It’s as easy as saying hello to a neighbor, showing others you care and speaking out against stigma. It’s about making MHFA skills available to more people.
At the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, we have a goal of training 1 out of every 15 people in the U.S., to make sure everyone has a close friend they can turn to in need. To double the impact, you can take MHFA with a friend — encouraging others to get trained helps create a safer, healthier community for all.
4. Build Community
People become First Aiders because they care about helping others — and there are a lot of people who care! Over 4.5 million people across the U.S. have already been certified in MHFA. It’s a movement that depends on community.
At a MHFA training, you’ll meet people like you who want to make a difference. There are MHFA courses offered all across the country, so you might find that there’s already a thriving MHFA community for you to join, right in your own backyard.
As a First Aider, you can also champion MHFA training for your workplace. MHFA at Work is a specific training that promotes mental health at work — creating a productive, satisfied, thriving staff community.
5. Begin Your Instructor Path
Becoming a First Aider is a huge step toward bolstering mental health in your community. Becoming a MHFA Instructor puts you on a path to making an even bigger impact.
When you teach MHFA, every action can create a ripple effect that makes big waves. By becoming a MHFA Instructor, you can teach your community the same invaluable skills you learned as First Aider.
MHFA Instructors connect people, build knowledge and empathy, and lead by example. But who makes a good Instructor? MHFA Instructors are:
- Community and religious leaders
- Teachers, coaches and school staff
- Nurses, emergency responders and hospital staff
- Social workers and peer support staff
- Public service and safety professionals
- Military and veterans services professionals
- Everyday people looking to increase their community impact
“The simple act of giving [people] hope that people with mental health or substance use challenges can recover motivates me every day. And when training ends at 5:30 p.m., the knowledge that 15 or 20 or 25 more people are able to help others gives me inexplicable satisfaction.”
— Pepe Juelle, MHFA Instructor
No matter who you are, you can make a difference with MHFA.
Getting Started With MHFA
What can you do with Mental Health First Aid certification? You can become a leader, a connector and a life changer. You can start ripples that become waves bigger than yourself.
MHFA works. Almost 100 peer-reviewed studies conducted in the United States have shown that those who are trained in MHFA:
- Show reduced stigma and increased empathy toward those with mental health challenges.
- Know the signs, symptoms and risk factors of mental health and substance use challenges.
- Show greater confidence and likelihood to help someone in distress.
- Use their skills and knowledge as First Aiders to manage their own mental wellbeing.
MHFA is an invaluable training and a movement. Join over 4.5 million people across the U.S. to help make mental wellbeing a reality for everyone.
