Mental Health First Aid Program
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Mental Helath First Aid is the help provided to a person developing a mental health problem or in a mental health crisis. The first aid is given ubtil appropriate professional treatment is recieved or until the crisis resolves.
The aims of Mental Health First Aid are to:
- preserve life where a person may be a danger to themselves
- provide help to prevent the mental health problem developing into a more serious state
- promote recovery of good mental health
- provide comfort to a person suffering a mental illness
While people often know a lot about common physical health problems, there is widespread ignorance of mental health problems. This ignorance adds to stigmatising attitudes and prevents people from seeking help early and seeking the best sort of help. It also prevents people providing appropriate support to colleagues and family members, simply because they do not know how.
In order to help people provide initial support for someone with a mental health problem, a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training course is offered to all staff of the University of Canberra annually.