Notice. Understand. Respond.
Mental Health First Aid is an international skills-based training that teaches participants about mental illness and substance-misuse and how to support someone experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge or crisis. The goal is to make Mental Health First Aid as common as CPR, reducing stigma while emphasizing hope and recovery.
MHFA uses a structured curriculum with a total of eight training hours. It begins with the required two-hour asynchronous online interactive ‘pre-work’. Participants must complete the online pre-work prior to the instructor-led training.
The instructor-led training is offered in two 3.5 hour sessions, ideally on concurrent days. The instructor-led part of the course is very interactive whether on Zoom or in-person. Once all of the required training components are completed, participants can download their certificates.
Certification lasts for three years, at which point First Aiders may renew their certification on their own (this can be done online, takes about 60 minutes and costs $29, Yale does not cover recertification cost).
These courses are open to Yale faculty, staff, postdoc associates and fellows. Each course is open to a minimum of 12 and maximum of 22 participants. For individual Yale faculty or staff members looking to join an open course, please check the calendar.
For courses open to the public, please refer to the MHFA webiste.
For Yale departments and groups, the cost is subsidized by Being Well at Yale at the rate of one course per department per fiscal year. Beyond that, a department or group must provide funding for additional courses through a COA transfer.
Please plan at least two months in advance to allow ample time for scheduling, planning, roster submission and participant pre-course work completion. For more information or to inquire about scheduling, please contact certified Mental Health First Aid instructor, Danielle Casioppo, at danielle.casioppo@yale.edu.
If a department or group is interested in learning more about MHFA, a one-hour How to Help: Tips from Mental Health First Aid session can be scheduled by request or register for an upcoming session on the calendar.
What Yale participants are saying about Mental Health First Aid:
- “I am now more confident in talking to those in distress and also realized the importance of self-care.”
- “The training was very interesting and useful, especially for someone like myself with absolutely no other relevant background. I’m very happy I attended and it was time well spent.”
- “I’m so glad to be a Mental Health First Aider and hope I can help others in the future.”
- “I was able to use my MHFA knowledge to help a friend in crisis and get him into a rehabilitation program.”