What is teen Mental Health First Aid?

The teen Mental Health First Aid Program (teen MHFA) is a new initiative of the Mental Health First Aid Training and Research Program. It is a training course, currently in development, that will be designed for adolescents aged between 16 and 18 years, to be delivered in school classrooms or to groups or clubs of between 15-30 students. The training is planned to consist of three sessions, each of 50-60 minutes in length. It will involve a range of teaching and learning activities, including multimedia presentations, group discussions and role plays. It is designed to be presented by an accredited MHFA Instructor, who has specialist knowledge and experience in the field of youth mental health, and will follow content outlined in a research-based, age appropriate and youth friendly, student workbook.

When will teen MHFA be available?

In early 2012 we plan to evaluate the program by running it in a few Victorian Secondary schools and getting feedback from students and teachers. Once the evaluation is complete and the materials have been finalised, we will launch the program nationally. We are hoping that Instructor training will be available in the latter part of 2012 and the program will be widely available to schools towards the end of that year.

How can I get more information?

If you would like more information on the teen MHFA program, the evaluation or the Instructor training, please contact the Program Coordinator, Laura Hart (lhart@unimelb.edu.au, 03 9342 3761).