If you are in distress, you can call or text 988 at any time. If it is an emergency, call 9-1-1 or go to your local emergency department.

Adults who Interact with Youth

MHFA Adults who Interact with Youth is intended for an adult audience whose primary focus is youth (aged 14-25). In addition to the four most common disorders discussed in MHFA BASIC, this course includes instruction about eating disorders and deliberate self-injury.

On this page

Course Outline - Plan de formation

Course Objectives

Participants who take this course are well prepared to interact confidently about mental health with the young people in their lives, including at schools, extra-curricular activities, social services, family, friends, and communities. In the MHFA course, you will gain a solid understanding of the 5 basic actions of ALGEE:

Assess the risk of suicide and/or harm
Listen non-judgmentally
Give reassurance
Encourage professional support
Encourage other supports

ALGEE is the framework for having a confident conversation about mental health with family, friends, colleagues, and strangers.

Key outcomes

International evaluations and feedback have found the following outcomes for participants undertaking an MHFA course:

  • Increased awareness of signs and symptoms of the most common mental health problems
  • Decreased stigma related to mental health
  • Increased confidence interacting with individuals experiencing a mental health problem or crisis
  • Increased help actually provided to individuals in crisis or experiencing a mental health problem

Crisis first aid skills learned

  • Substance overdose
  • Suicidal behaviour
  • Panic attack
  • Acute stress reaction
  • Psychotic episode

Course sections

1. Mental Health and Stigma

  • What is Mental Health First Aid?
  • Common mental health problems
  • Five basic actions of mental health first aid
  • Stigma and discrimination

2. Substance-related disorders

  • What is a substance-related disorder?
  • Signs and symptoms
  • Risk factors
  • MHFA for substance-related problems
  • Crisis first aid for overdose
  • Treatment and resources

3. Mood-related disorders for youth

  • What is a mood-related disorder?
  • Types of mood-related disorders
  • Signs and symptoms
  • Risk factors
  • Substance use and mood-related disorders
  • Suicide in Canada
  • MHFA for mood-related problems
  • Crisis first aid for suicidal behaviour
  • What is deliberate self-injury?
  • Reasons for self-injury
  • MHFA for self-injury
  • Treatment and resources

4. Anxiety and trauma-related disorders

  • What are anxiety and trauma related disorders?
  • Types of anxiety and trauma related disorders
  • Signs and symptoms
  • Risk factors
  • Substance use and anxiety related disorders
  • MHFA for anxiety and trauma related problems
  • Crisis first aid for panic attacks
  • Crisis first aid for acute stress reactions
  • Treatment and resources

5. Eating disorders

  • What is an eating disorder?
  • Signs and symptoms
  • Risk factors
  • MHFA for eating disorders

6. Psychotic disorders

  • What is a psychotic disorder?
  • Types of psychotic disorders
  • Signs and symptoms
  • Risk factors
  • Substance use and psychotic disorders
  • MHFA for anxiety problems
  • Crisis first aid for psychotic episodes

MHFA Resources

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MHFA Case Studies

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