Become a Mental Health First Aider

Overview

Train as a Mental Health First Aider® and receive three years of certification, plus access to ongoing benefits by joining the Association of Mental Health First Aiders®.

This course is ideal for individuals who would like to become an MHFAider® to gain the knowledge, awareness, and skills to spot signs of people experiencing poor mental health, be confident to start a conversation, and signpost a person to appropriate support.​

In addition to the course, you will become part of the largest dedicated community of Mental Health First Aiders in England, the Association of Mental Health First Aiders, gaining access to resources, ongoing learning, and 24/7 digital support, to give you the tools and knowledge you need to carry out the role effectively and confidently, whether that be in your workplace, a volunteer role, or in the community.

What you'll achieve by doing the course

As an MHFAider you will be able to:

• Recognise those that may be experiencing poor mental health and provide them with first-level support and early intervention

• Encourage a person to identify and access sources of professional help and other supports

• Practise active listening and empathy

• Have a conversation with improved mental health literacy around language and stigma

• Discuss the MHFAider role in depth, including boundaries and confidentiality

• Practise self-care

• Know how to use the MHFAider Support App®

• Know how to access a dedicated text service provided by Shout and ongoing learning opportunities with MHFA England

How we deliver our training

• Online or face-to-face course structured across four flexible sessions. These sessions can be delivered over a two week period. Each session is roughly half a day.

• Learners will be trained over four live sessions with our MHFA England Instructor, covering 14 hours of content in total.​

• Learning takes place through a mix of instructor led training, group discussions, individual and group activities. ( but we avoid role plays because they are scary!)

• Each session builds on the previous, enabling you to gain confidence in supporting others with a Mental Health First Aid action plan.

• We limit numbers to 16 people per course so that we can keep people safe and supported while they learn.

• We strive for all of our learning content to be as accessible and inclusive as possible.

Support beyond the course

Everyone who completes the course gets:

• A copy of the workbook to support their learning throughout the course

• A digital manual to refer to whenever they need it

• A wallet-sized reference card

​​Following the course, your will be invited to join the Association of Mental Health First Aiders – England’s first and only membership body for MHFAiders, and the largest community of its kind.

The Association of Mental Health First Aiders gives you access to exclusive resources and learning opportunities to empower them to carry out their roles effectively. This includes:

• The MHFAider Support App® - Access to features such as a 24/7 text support service, signposting to a national database of health services, and insights that teach critical self-care skills

• The MHFA England Online Learning Hub - This includes resources such as course manuals

• First-hand insights - Learn from real people sharing their honest and lived experiences of mental health conditions

• Online networking - Invites to exclusive quarterly webinars to help MHFAiders carry out their role with confidence, skill, and care

• Monthly newsletters - MHFAiders are kept up to date with all the latest news from our community

Join the Association of Mental Health First Aiders

When completing your MHFA course, you are invited to join England’s first and only membership body for Mental Health First Aiders, the largest community of its kind. Offering ongoing support to MHFAiders, the exclusive benefits empower our members to fulfil their roles with confidence, skill, and care.