If you are in distress, you can text WELLNESS to 741741 at any time. If it is an emergency, call 9-1-1 or go to your local emergency department.

Home › Training › Mental Health First Aid › Big Picture

Mental Health First Aid - Big picture

Mental Health First Aid is the help provided to a person developing a mental health problem, experiencing the worsening of an existing mental health problem or in a mental health crisis. Just like physical first aid is provided until medical treatment can be obtained, MHFA is given until appropriate support is found or until the crisis is resolved.

Mental Health First Aid Logo

On this page

Talk To Us

Interested in mental health training for your organization? Let us know

Talk To Us

Interested in mental health training for your organization? Let us know
Please indicate if training is for an individual or for a group?
Would you like to receive monthly updates from our mental health training team?
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden

Our Mission: 
To make meaningful contributions to the wellness of Canadians through world-class mental health courses.

Our Vision: 
Every Canadian is within reach of effective mental health first aid.  

Our Principles:

Integrity. 
We are clear in our words and actions and intend to do the right things for the right reasons to benefit Canadians.

Quality. 
We stand out for excellence in everything we do.

Collaboration. 
We are committed to engaging stakeholders in good faith as trusted and valued partners.

Accessibility. 
We believe anyone can be a mental health first aider when enabled with safe and effective tools.   

How MHFA helps

Mental Health First Aid:

  • Engages confidently where a person may be a danger to themselves or others.
  • Provides help to prevent the mental health problem from developing into a more serious state.
  • Promotes the recovery of good mental health.
  • Provides comfort to a person experiencing a mental health problem.

I have gained a greater awareness and understanding of Mental Health issues. I have also gained a confidence within myself as a professional to recognize, empathize and provide supports to individuals with mental health barriers.

Who MHFA is for

Your community

Be confident to provide assistance to your family, friends, and neighbours

Your workplace

Recognize signs and symptoms among colleagues and clients

Yourself

Bring MHFA to your community, your workplace, and the general public

MHFA Resources

Mental Health for Older Adults: 5 Practical Ways to Boost your Mood
Mental health is a vital aspect of your overall health. As you grow older, you can experience changes in your physical health, social connections, and daily routines that can significantly affect your quality of life, your mood and well-being. 
READ MORE

I searched for families like mine – and if possible, hope. They were here all along
Stigma leads me to write this under a pseudonym. Why? Because my child is kind, caring, generous and resilient, among many other great qualities.
READ MORE

Envisioning the future of workplace mental health
Recent events have highlighted the need for change in how we do business, manage operations, and provide psychological safe space for the workforce. What we perceived as “working” before, it would seem, is no longer working.
READ MORE

MHFA Case Studies

Case Study: Government of Saskatchewan and Mental Health First Aid
In Saskatchewan, Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) education is a shared responsibility between the Ministry of Education, under the authority of the Minister of Education, and locally elected boards of education. There are 27 school divisions in Saskatchewan, including public school divisions, separate school divisions, and the francophone school division.
READ MORE

Case Study: nabs and Mental Health First Aid
Founded in 1983 in Canada, nabs is a unique charity specifically designed to support the health and well-being of all individuals in the media, marketing, and communications industry in Canada.
READ MORE

Case Study: Loblaws and Mental Health First Aid
In 2018, Loblaw started working on being more proactive by providing store managers with the tools they need to respond to mental health crises in the workplace.
READ MORE

Check all case studies >>>