Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) trainings teach skills to recognize and respond to signs of mental health & substance use challenges and crises in others so you can provide initial support and help connect them to appropriate care and resources.
What you’ll learn:
- Signs & symptoms of common mental health challenges, crises, and diagnoses
- Signs & symptoms of substance use challenges and crises
- How to respond to & support someone experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis
- Focused skills for suicide intervention, overdose response, and crisis de-escalation
- How to connect those in need with appropriate mental health resources/services
- Self-care strategies to look after for yourself while supporting others
- Maine-specific and nation-wide mental health resources, services, and other supports
MHFA training is designed for a general adult audience and is a nationally accredited certification course licensed through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, taught by certified MHFA instructors from Sweetser. We offer:
- Adult Mental Health First Aid (MHFA-A) is a skills-based certification training on how to identify, understand, and respond to signs and symptoms of a mental health or substance use challenge or crisis in adults ages 18 and over. The evidence behind MHFA demonstrates that it builds mental health literacy, providing an action plan that teaches people to safely and responsibly identify and address a potential mental health or substance use challenge or crisis. View the flyer to learn more.
- Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA-Y) is a skills-based certification training that teaches parents, caregivers, teachers, school staff, health & human services workers, and other community members how to identify, understand, and respond to a youth/adolescent who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge or crisis. View the flyer to learn more.
MHFA trainings are 8 hours total, for groups of 5 to 25 participants per training, and are available in three formats:
- Fully In-Person: Learners complete all course content in one 8-hour, instructor-led session (including breaks) held at your facility.
- Blended: Learners complete 2 hours of self-guided online coursework, followed by a 6-hour, instructor-led session (including breaks) held at your facility.
- Virtual: Learners complete 2 hours of self-guided online coursework, followed by a 6-hour, instructor-led session (including breaks) held virtually via Zoom/Webex/Teams.
Instructor-led sessions of any MHFA training format can be divided into two shorter sessions, if needed.
PLEASE NOTE: MHFA training can be credited on completion as 6.5 professional development hours. MHFA training is not eligible for credit as continuing education units (CEUs) or Contact Hours.
Trainings available for individual registrations can be found in the Schedule at a Glance.
Contact Us
Is your group interested in hosting a FREE mental health awareness training? Please fill out this form and our Training Coordinator will be in touch!
For other inquiries, please email our Training Coordinator at MCashman@Sweetser.org.
