Adapt MHFA for your country

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The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Program has spread rapidly within Australia and has been adapted in a number of other countries. The creators of the program, Betty Kitchener and Tony Jorm, have been generous in sharing the program overseas, and rigorous evaluation of the program has also helped with its international uptake. To date, 16 other countries have adapted the program for their own settings. See this overview article for more information – Kitchener, B.A. & Jorm, A.F. Mental health first aid: An international programme for early intervention. Early Intervention in Psychiatry 2008, 2:55-61 (PDF)

Information for adapting the program for another country

We receive regular inquiries from additional countries wishing to adopt the program. However, experience has shown that for the program to be successful in another country, it needs to be supported by a suitable organisation in that country. Only overseas organisations that can demonstrate the following characteristics will be eligible for consideration as a suitable organisation:

• They must have the appropriate personnel with extensive mental health and training experience.
• They need sufficient start‐up funding and a funding model that will sustain the program into the future.
• They need to be able to deliver the MHFA Program to a suitably‐sized population within their country.

Download further information about the steps involved in adapting the MHFA Australia Program for another country

A Memorandum of Understanding needs to be signed before the Standard or Youth MHFA Program is taken to another country.

Download further information about the royalty to be paid MHFA Australia per manual sold