About MHFA

About Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Australia is a national not-for-profit organisation focused on mental health training and research. MHFA’s core work is to develop courses, and train Instructors to deliver these courses to their communities or workplaces.

MHFA courses are delivered across Australia and internationally. These courses teach members of the public how to provide initial help to a person who is developing a mental health problem, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or in a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate professional help is received, or the crisis resolves.

World-wide Reach

Since its inception in 2000, Mental Health First Aid has evolved into a global movement across Australia and in over 27 countries. To date, over 3 million people worldwide have been trained, including over 800,000 Australians.

International Recognition

The Mental Health First Aid Program has been recognised with a number of Australian and international awards, including the The MHS Medal. It has been recognised in the UK as an example of radical efficiency and has been listed in the USA by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on their National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

A bold vision

The stated vision of MHFA reads: “A world where we all have the skills to support people experiencing mental health problems.” This is supported by the purpose which is to “Provide high quality, evidence-based mental health first aid education to everyone.

To date, more than 1 million Australians have now been trained in Mental Health First Aid. This great achievement speaks to the momentum of mental health awareness, especially in the modern workplace. Mental Health First Aid Australia have set a bold vision to train 1 in 10 Australian adults by 2030.

At In Bloom, we are proud to support this goal with our singular focus on workplaces. This unique area of focus has allowed us to grow our expertise in the area, and adapt the course specifically to your environment.

toll group - case study

This video shares how Toll Group have integrated Mental Health First Aid Training as part of their Safety Obsessed Culture. The video showcases quotes from Steve West (Senior Project Manager), Ruth Oakden (Group Wellbeing Manager) as well as Richard Turner (Global Head of Health, Safety, Security and Environment).

Here’s what Ruth Oakden says specifically in relation to Mental Health First Aid:

“Every module I reviewed made sense and was better than the last. It blew my socks off as far as mental health training goes. I could see great value in it but was concerned that implementing it within Toll at the time, would be challenging because of the scale. So we had to think about how we might start small.”

Why Now?

Now, more than ever, great companies recognise the impact of work on their employee’s wellbeing and mental health. Great companies that care deeply about retention, and their staff’s wellbeing tend to invest further in wellbeing, and mental health first aid training forms a part of the wider strategy.

Recently, a survey conducted by HR consultancy Mercer found that organisations that do more to promote wellbeing have significantly lower turnover rates. The findings were that companies with 5 or more wellbeing best practices had an average turnover rate of 18%, while those with zero to two best practices had average turnover rates of 29%.

This supports the concept that you want Mental Health First Aid training to form a part of your wider strategy.