The Instructor Training Course
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Is the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course accredited?
Q6. When will the Adolescent version of MHFA be ready?
Q1: Is the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course accredited?
The word "accredited" means different things in different contexts. There are different ways for a course to be considered "accredited".
The MHFA course is presently accredited by the MHFA Program as an evidenced-based course – i.e. a course that is well supported by good research showing its efficacy. However, what some people want is an accreditation made against national standards or competencies.
Accreditation against national standards for mental health first aid
There are competency guidelines for mental health care given by mental health practitioners, but no national guidelines/standards for mental health first aid given by a first aider.
There are national competencies for regular first aid. These competencies/guidelines are decided upon by the Australian Resuscitation Council: http://www.resus.org.au/ Anyone wishing to develop an accredited regular first aid Course, must teach the skills, according to these ARC Guidelines. That is the only way a first aid course can be viewed as VET (vocational and education training) accredited.
However, national standards for mental health first aid have never been developed. To address this, the MHFA Program is currently carrying out a 2-year project to develop the national standards for mental health first aid. Once these standards are developed, the course may need to be modified to comply with these standards. Then it will be possible to apply for VET approval of the MHFA course.
To establish these standards for mental health first aid, a rigorous research approach called the Delphi Technique is being undertaken to systematically determine expert consensus. This involves finding any claims made in the literature about approaches for mental health first aid and asking a panel of experts to come to an agreement as to whether these are helpful or not. Mental health researchers, clinicians, carers and consumers across English speaking countries will be involved in this process. This is a very involved project which will not be completed until 2007. The first standards (first aid for suicide behaviour and self harming) will be available mid next year.
Accreditation as an evidenced-based course
The MHFA course was developed at the Centre for Mental Health Research, an internationally renowned research centre at the Australian National University. This year, the program moved to the University of Melbourne, where ORYGEN Research Centre was very keen to host the Program.
The program is well evaluated, with good outcomes demonstrated at follow-up by one open trial, two randomized controlled trials and one qualitative study. It is this rigorous evaluation that gives the MHFA Program its credibility. The two trainers of MHFA instructors were evaluated in these trials so we know that their training is effective. This is what distinguishes the MHFA course from many other courses where effectiveness is often not established. The evaluation articles published on the MHFA course can be accessed here.
As far as we are aware from the published literature, this is the only mental health education course for the public that has strong evidence for its effectiveness. The level of evidence meets the top NHMRC criteria ie Level 1 evidence for an intervention: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/_files/levels_grades05.pdf
The MHFA course is not VET accredited
Our 12-hour Mental Health First Aid Course does not issue a qualification or a statement of attainment. It issues a Certificate of Attendance. The MHFA Course makes no claims to be VET accredited or to meet industry approved competencies. This is because these MHFA competencies have not yet been developed.
In summary the MHFA course is accredited by the MHFA Program as an evidenced-based course - ie a course that is well supported by good research showing its efficacy. As an additional step, VET accreditation will be sought when the mental health first aid standards are determined.
Q2. As a clinical psychologist / mental health professional, can I do a shorter course to become a MHFA Instructor?
Thank you for your enquiry about the Mental Health First Aid course. Only accredited MHFA Instructors can conduct our 12 hour MHFA course. It is recognised that clinical psychologists and other mental health professionals are very skilled and knowledgeable about mental health problems and their treatments. However, the 12 hour MHFA course has a first aid focus and not one from a clinical aspect. Doctors and registered nurses do not always make the best first aiders. They are very competent in treatment in a clinical setting, but not usually taught or experience the basic care that a first aider can give prior to professional medical help arriving.
It is difficult to find which parts of the 5-day program to exempt mental health professionals from as the bulk of the 5 days involves learning the curriculum of the MHFA course and how to present it. There are a number of clinical psychologists and other mental health professionals who are accredited MHFA Instructors and all have completed the 5-day MHFA Instructor Training Course.
There are selection criteria to become a MHFA Instructor, the first one being a good knowledge and experience in mental health problems.
Q3. If a trainee MHFA Instructor has already attended the 12 hour MHFA course, would they then only need to attend three days of the MHFA Instructor Training course (thereby adjusting the cost too)?
The ideal situation for a trainee MHFA Instructor is that they have already attended the 12-hour MHFA course with another Instructor, prior to the commencement of the 5-day MHFA Instructor Training Course.
Trainee instructors must attend the full five days. It is necessary that trainee Instructors attend the 5 consecutive days for the following reasons;
1. You are able to observe the 12-hour course from the viewpoint of being an Instructor, rather than a recipient.
2. Each Instructor has different teaching methods and it is an advantage to experience at least 2 styles before becoming an Instructor yourself.
3. The 12-hour course conducted on the first 2 days usually imparts more knowledge, given it is a class of trainee instructors.
4. Important networking & group cohesion occurs over the 5 days.
Q4. I am interested in the MHFA Instructor Training but the cost is prohibitive. I am wondering if there is a possibility of either a reduction in the cost or ways to get funding to assist with the cost?
Yes, I appreciate the cost is substantial for a not-for-profit organisation.
Unfortunately we have to charge the $3,000 fee for the Instructor Training Course as this is the only income we have to help keep us self-sustaining. It is possible for the fee to be paid in instalments of $500 payments, even after the training has been received. Thus, the MHFA Instructor can be delivering the 12 hr MHFA course for a fee and be able to pay back the training costs from these fees received.
We have, on occasions had scholarships available for trainees, due to generous donations. However, there are no scholarships available at the moment and none foreseeable on the horizon. We are continually on the look out for this.
I wonder if you could approach the Rotary clubs in your region? The topic of mental illness awareness has been very well supported by the Aust Rotary organisation. You could offer to conduct some free MHFA courses for the Rotary club.
Q5. Is there any way an individual or organisation can obtain a discount on the MHFA Instructor Training Course?
The upper limit on a MHFA course is 11 people per Trainer of Instructors. If both Trainers are available a maximum of 22 instructors can train in the one course. Unfortunately it is of no benefit to MHFA Australia whether the trainee instructors are all coming from the same organisation or not, we are a not- for- profit organisation and the cost of the course per participant is based on cost recovery.
Q6. When will the Adolescent version of MHFA be ready?
The Adolescent version of the MHFA Program is a new specialty MHFA course aimed to be delivered to adults who work with adolescents, in particular teachers, parents and youth workers. Development of the manual and teaching materials will be completed by the end of 2006 and evaluation and delivery of this new program will begin early 2007.
The curriculum covers the symptoms, possible causes and first aid steps for the following mental illnesses in adolescents: depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, substance use disorders, deliberate self-harm and eating disorders.
To train as an Instructor of the Adolescent MHFA course, you need to already be an accredited MHFA Instructor from the regular 5-day MHFA Instructor Training Course and successfully conducted at least 3 successsful 12-hour MHFA courses. Additional selection criteria around knowledge and experience with youth mental health problems will need to be met to then complete the 3-day specialty Adolescent Instructor Training Course.