- Tier: Tier 1: Positive mental health promotion
- Category of intervention: Mental health literacy
- Strength of evidence: Level 4: Established evidence for program (supported by quality research evidence)
- Geographic location: Only available for delivery in the Central Highlands and Wimmera South-West department areas.
Program description
Teen Mental Health First Aid (Teen MHFA) teaches secondary students how to provide mental health first aid to their friends. The course is available for 2 cohorts:
- years 7–9
- years 10–12.
Teen MHFA focuses on building mental health literacy of a whole cohort, to reduce behaviours and attitudes that often prevent teens from getting the help and support they need.
Intended outcomes
- Increased mental health literacy
- Greater confidence to respond to a crisis
- Reduced stigma and increased support for young people with mental health problems
- Positive changes in attitudes toward students with mental health problems
- Higher student willingness to seek help for a mental health problem
- Skills to deliver first aid to help peers at risk of suicide
Program details
| Target audience | Secondary school students – all |
|---|---|
| Program provider | Ballarat Community Health |
| Delivery mode |
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Implementation considerations
- Target population: Teen MHFA targets secondary students in years 7–9 and 10–12.
- Program adaptability: As an evidence-based course, Teen Mental Health First Aid has set content however examples could be tailored to local context.
- Staffing: Backfilling/time release may be required for teaching staff to attend training (including self-paced learning).
- Training requirements: Teen MHFA is a 3.5-hour course, delivered via 3 face-to-face classroom sessions to students. Facilities for an online presentation (including a projector) will be required. Presence of a teacher to support class behaviour management, and availability of a wellbeing officer (if needed by students) is also required.
- Factors to consider: Teen MHFA can only be delivered in settings where 10% of staff have trained in Youth MHFA and must be delivered to a whole student cohort.
- Australian context: This program has been developed and applied in Australia.
Cost
Minimum cost
From under $1,000
Detailed cost
The cost of Teen Mental Health First Aid is $60.91 (including GST) per person. This includes the 3.5-hour course, delivered via 3 face-to-face classroom sessions.
Additional costs include travel costs ($0.94 per km) and facilitator travel time ($55 per hour).
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