The Instructor Training Course
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Is the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course accredited?
Q4. Please tell me about the CALD versions of the MHFA Program.
Q8. How the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA course differs from the regular MHFA course?
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 3-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 2008.
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. In 2005, 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 at this URL: http://www.mhfa.com.au/evaluation.shtml
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/_files_nhmrc/file/guidelines/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. Please tell me about the CALD versions of the MHFA Program.
Len Kanowski was the consultant hired in Canberra to work with reference groups to modify the Edition 1 Standard MHFA course for Croatian, Vietnamese and Italian people living in Australia.
- How is the generic course modified eg content, style of presentation?
The main modifications are to make the 3 CALD versions of the MHFA course sensitive to the beliefs and views of the 3 different cultures. Asian cultures very often view mental illnesses as physical symptoms. The format of the 12-15hr courses are similar to the generic MHFA course. Each modified MHFA manual and PPT slides are translated into the respective languages.
- Accreditation processes to be able to deliver CALD courses?
So far, we have only had one Instructor Training course to train the CALD Instructors. They need to meet our regular criteria and also be bi-lingual and accepted as one of the CALD community they are training for. Hence the MHFA Instructors who teach the Vietnamese MHFA course are Vietnamese and also trained as a mental health professional here in Australia eg psychologist, social worker - similar for the other 2 cultural groups. (These criteria make it difficult to find suitable CALD Instructors but they are criteria I wish to keep).
- Is any of the material available to all accredited instructors?
No - all the material is translated.
- What is the process to modify a course for specific groups?
Well , first we need a grant and then a suitable project officer to develop and work with a reference group to achieve suitable modifications.
Q5. 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 course fee for the Instructor Training Course as this is the only income we have to help keep us self-sustaining.
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.
Q6. 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.
Q7. I am interested in the MHFA Instructor training but cannot afford the payments straight away. I am wondering if there is a possibility of ‘time-payments’ or ‘payment-by-instalment’?
Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate a ‘time payment’ or ‘payment by instalment’ arrangement’ for the Instructor course fee as our finance system does not allow for such arrangements.
Q8. How the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA course differs from the regular MHFA course?
The AMHFA course
- is a 14 hour course.
- was developed in close consultation with key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals and stakeholders.
- is delivered by accredited Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander instructors or non-Aboriginal Mental Health First Aid instructors with specialist training and accreditation.
- covers social and emotional wellbeing and mental health issues in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, outlining the effects of colonisation.
- covers the significant loss and grief issues faced by individuals.
- provides information on the resilience and survival of Aboriginal peoples despite past government policies and practices.
- looks at cultural presentations of mental illness and distress.
- provides information on culturally appropriate first aid interventions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
- provides information on how to locate culturally appropriate mental health resources and services.
- contains a separate chapter on suicide and self-harm.
- discusses social and environmental triggers for mental illness.
- includes inhalants and kava in the substance use section.
- language in the manual has been adjusted in an attempt to better
suit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander course participants. - contains a course workbook to assist with interaction during the course.
- includes Aboriginal artwork in all course materials.
- will eventually use culturally appropriate DVD's developed specifically for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audience.