Mental Health First Aid USA

Mental Health First Aid is an evidence-based, in-person training program with proven ability to teach individuals how to recognize and respond to the warning signs of mental illness and substance use disorders and link people with appropriate treatment and support. Mental Health First Aid increases the understanding that mental illnesses are real, common and treatable.

The National Council's goal is to make Mental Health First Aid as common as CPR. Originating in Australia in 2001, Mental Health First Aid has expanded to more than 23 countries worldwide. Since the program was first introduced in the United States in 2008, more than 11, 000 instructors have been certified to teach the program and hundreds of thousands of Americans have now been trained as Mental Health First Aiders.

Mental Health First Aid is included on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

Mental Health First Aid USA is managed,operated, and disseminated by the National Council for Behavioral Health and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.