Mental Health First Aid
For Everyone. And Every One.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) provides the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for participants to recognize changes in mental health, respond supportively, and apply practical actions for declining mental health and crisis situations. It helps participants build confidence, reduce stigma, and enhance their own mental health.
Delivered in 35 nations worldwide and with over 7 million people trained, MHFA is a global movement.
MHFA is offered through three course types:
An innovative and leading-edge program in the sector, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) now offers official certification.
This in-depth course, upon completion and assessment, provides participants:
- a nationally recognized MHFA Certification that is valid for 3 years.
- Increase Mental Health Awareness
- Understand stigma, diagnostic labelling, and barriers to helping
- Learn effective communication techniques
A suite of streamlined courses, focused on core knowledge and practical skills. The courses do not lead to Certification.
Within the Essentials suite are also Adaptations to support unique populations and specific roles, including:
- MHFA Supporting Youth
- MHFA Supporting Older Adults
- MHFA Veteran Community
- MHFA Police
Culturally grounded and co-developed with the communities they serve. They are delivered with local knowledge and community support to ensure safe, relevant, and trusted learning experiences. These programs are designed to reflect the lived realities, values, and ways of knowing of the local communities, including:
- MHFA First Nations
- MHFA Inuit
- MHFA Northern Peoples
Choosing the course that best suits your needs
| Certification | Essentials | |
|---|---|---|
| Increase Mental Health Awareness | ||
| Define Mental Health and recognize indicators of mental health across the continuum. | ||
| Distinguish between mental: health, illness, health conditions. | ||
| Understand factors influencing mental health and mental health disorders in Canada. | ||
| Explain the Two Continua Model of mental health. | ||
| Improve Confidence to Help | ||
| Apply the ALGES framework in scenarios of declining mental health and crisis. | ||
| Develop effective interaction skills, including effective listening, non-judgmental communication skills, and application of reassurance and sharing of information. | ||
| Explain recovery-oriented approaches to providing support. | ||
| Identify barriers to MHFA, and questions to initiate supportive conversations. | ||
| Develop a list of resources and supports. | ||
| Decrease Mental Health Stigma | ||
| Recognize stigmatizing language and practice respectful alternatives. | ||
| Reflect on personal attitudes and biases that contribute to stigma. | ||
| Understand risks and limitations associated with diagnostic labeling. | ||
| Explain stigma, including self, public, and structural, and strategies to reduce. | ||
| Enhance Mental Health | ||
| Identify personal self-care strategies using the Three Pillars of Self-Care | ||
| Recognize when self-care is needed and how to integrate it into daily life, and commit to actions to maintain personal well-being |
Note: Because Community-Based programs are developed through close community consultation and cultural alignment, they do not follow the same structure as MHFA Essentials or Certification courses. As such, they are not included in the comparison table. For more information about these offerings or how to access them, visit our Community-Based Mental Health Training page.
Learn how to use ALGES
MHFA actions ALGES provide a framework for supporting someone in distress: first approach them, assess for any crisis, and offer immediate help if needed.
Then, listen without judgment, give reassurance and information, and encourage both professional help and other supports like family, friends, or self-care strategies. Finally, the first aider must also practice self-care to manage the emotional impact of providing help.
- Approach the person, assess, and assist with any crisis
- Listen and communicate non-judgmentally
- Give reassurance and information
- Encourage the person to reach out to supports
- Self-care for the first aider
Frequently Asked Questions
While the base information for Essentials and Certification is similar, MHFA Certification adds additional coverage for mental health disorders and their prevalence, as well as more scenario-based training exercises and discussions around key concepts. The topics covered in Community-Based courses are built in the unique context of the community it serves - as a result, the topics covered can be different than the Essentials and Certification options.
Certification is only available through the two-day MHFA Certification course. If you have taken previous offered MHFA Standard or Basic courses within the last 12 months, you have the opportunity to take the certification assessment for a one-time fee. Successful completion of this assessment will result in full certification being granted for three years.
Certification is only available through the two-day MHFA Certification course. If you have taken previous offered MHFA Standard or Basic courses within the last 12 months, you have the opportunity to take the certification assessment for a one-time fee. Successful completion of this assessment will result in full certification being granted for three years.
Certification is only available through the two-day MHFA certification course at this time. If both are required, we recommend taking the Certification course in addition to the adaptation you are interested in.
MHFA Certifications remain active for 3 years from the date of successful completion of the assessment. To recertify, participants must complete the MHFA Certification course again.
Mental Health First Aid Full Course Selection
Type of training
Format of training
Length of training
Become a Certified MHFA Facilitator
The Facilitator Certification Training is designed for people who want to offer the MHFA course in their communities, workplaces or organizations. As a Certified MHFA facilitator, you will join the Opening Minds Facilitator Community that is over 2000 people strong across Canada.
Mental Health First Aid Case Studies
Learn more about how MHFA is helping to transform mental wellness in organizations across Canada.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mental Health First Aid and The Working Mind curriculum is available in the English and French language.
Psychological Health and Safety training is available in English only at this moment. French version will be available at the end of 2024.
Private group sessions require 8 people. Maximum number of participants in each group is 15. We encourage groups under 8 people to use our publicly scheduled courses with independent facilitators. Some facilitators have a direct booking option, while others prefer that participants contact them directly to reserve a seat.
Anyone can register to a publicly scheduled course
Those looking to book a course as an individual or a group under 8 participants should check our publicly scheduled course. For group training request please contact our client development team.
Yes. As part of its Psychological Health and Safety Training and Assessment Program Opening a combination of training and assessment that bridges the guidance from the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety with the evolving needs of workplaces. With the help of this program we are able to make sure that mental health awareness programs are integrated through our assessment process, and identify if TWM and MHFA are present.
Our live, interactive corporate training programs are priced by the delivery of virtual or in person training.
You pay a fixed price for a dedicated session designed to deliver maximum impact for your team. This provides you with the flexibility to strategically select participants, course timing, and create the ideal learning environment.
The program is designed to accommodate up to 15 participants virtually, or 25 participants in person allowing you to tailor your participant list to achieve the best cohort dynamics and maximize the value for your organization.
Live sessions start in the range of $190 per person, based on a 15-person virtual session. There must be a minimum of 8 participants to ensure rich dialogue and effective breakout sessions.
Contact us for a personalized consultation and quote. Corporate bundles are available for bulk purchases. We also offer on-line, self-paced, asynchronous options for select programs starting at $69.95 per participant.
Training your team together as a dedicated cohort offers unique advantages that contribute to a stronger and more supportive workplace. With flexibility around your work schedule, you get to pick the dates that work best for you and a facilitator that meets your needs as an organization.
Learning together creates a shared experience, fosters team cohesion, and builds trust among colleagues. Role-playing and breakout sessions with teammates provide a safe and practical way to apply new skills and open dialogue. Ensures all team members receive the same core information and develop a common language around mental health within the context of your team, leading to a unified approach to wellbeing and facilitating ongoing conversations.
The shared experience and team-specific dialogue create a ripple effect, encouraging employees to support each other and apply their learning in their daily interactions with their colleagues, building a culture of wellbeing within your team.
Absolutely! We work with organizations of all sizes. Our fixed-price course sessions offer a great value, especially when you consider the comprehensive nature of the training and the flexibility it provides.
Even with a smaller team, you can utilize the available capacity to train your staff, offer training to key partners or stakeholders, or even use the sessions as a benefit to attract and retain talent. We're happy to discuss how our programs can be a cost-effective solution for your organization.
Don't hesitate to reach out – we're happy to explore the possibilities with you.