Description:
This manual has been produced as the basis for the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Northern Ireland training programme. This has been adapted from the original MHFA programme developed in Australia, and will see instructors deliver training to people from many voluntary and professional backgrounds, in the fields of work and leisure, across Northern Ireland.

MHFA is the help given to people experiencing mental health problems before professional help is received. It seeks to promote the recovery of good mental health and limit the possibility of mental health problems developing into more serious conditions.

This manual gives an overview of mental health in Northern Ireland, explains the MHFA approach, looks in detail at MHFA in relation to the major mental health problems, and provides an in-depth resource section with details of related organisations and sources of help.

Additional information:
This manual is only available as part of the MHFA training programme. For more information on the training programme, please email michelle.mcmaster@hscni.net

The full roll-out of the MHFA training programme in Northern Ireland follows a pilot run in 2006 organised by a cross-border partnership of Cooperation and Working Together (CAWT), Aware Defeat Depression and the HPA. An evaluation of the pilot programme carried out by the HPA reflected its success and indicated the high demand for full development of an MHFA programme specifically for Northern Ireland.