MHFA Community-Based
For Everyone. And Every One.
Community-Based MHFA courses are culturally grounded and co-developed with the communities they serve.
These programs are designed to reflect the lived realities, values, and ways of knowing of First Nations, Inuit, Northern Peoples, and other populations. They are delivered with local knowledge and community support to ensure safe, relevant, and trusted learning experiences.
Unlike standard adaptations, these courses are not modified versions of existing MHFA programs—they are built differently from the ground up, with unique frameworks, scenarios, and language that honour the context and strengths of each community.
MHFA Community-Based Training
MHFA Community courses are available in adaptations that address the specific needs of unique groups, including MHFA Northern Peoples, MHFA Inuit, MHFA First Nations. Each version maintains the same core framework while tailoring examples, language, and context to ensure the training is meaningful and relatable for the audience it serves.
Other MHFA training options
Workplace Mental Health Verification is a strong business signal. When you’re Workplace Mental Health verified, you show:
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 courses, focused on core knowledge and practical skills. The courses do not lead to Certification.
Within the Essentials suite is a streamlined one-day course as well as adaptations to support unique populations and specific roles, including:
- MHFA Supporting Youth
- MHFA Supporting Older Adults
- MHFA Veteran Community
- MHFA Police
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 24 months, you have the opportunity to upskill through MHFA Bridge to Certification.
Our facilitator network will stop delivering MHFA Basic and MHFA Standard as of March 31st, 2026.
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.
If you have taken MHFA Standard or MHFA Basic since September 30, 2023, an MHFA Bridge to Certification will be available in the coming weeks. If you’re interested, please complete this FORM, and we’ll contact you with details about the process.
Become a Certified MHFA Facilitator
The Facilitator Certification Training is designed for people who want to offer the MHFA course in the 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.
