The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training course was developed to help people provide initial support for someone who may be developing a mental health problem or is experiencing a mental health crisis. MHFA was developed and introduced by Professors Anthony Jorm and Betty Kitchener from the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University in 2001. Since 2005 the program has been sponsored by the ORYGEN Research Centre at the University of Melbourne.
The MHFA course aimed to improve the mental health literacy of members of the Australian community. Since then, the program has been developed, evaluated and disseminated nationally and internationally. In fact, both Australia and Scotland have made MHFA part of their national mental health strategies.
The MHFA course has been thoroughly evaluated in Australia using randomized controlled trials and a qualitative study and been found to be effective at:
- Improving the course participants’ knowledge of mental disorders.
- Reducing stigma.
- Increasing the amount of help provided to others.