Mental health first aid
Encyclopedia
Mental health first aid has been defined as "the help provided to a person developing a mental health problem or in a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate professional treatment is received or until the crisis resolves".
Mental health first aid is an extension of the concept of first aid
which is familiar with physical health crises to cover mental health. While first aid for physical health crises is a familiar notion in developed countries, conventional first aid training has not generally incorporated mental health problems.
or being acutely psychotic, someone with appropriate first aid skills can reduce the risk of the person coming to harm.
Mental health first aid is an extension of the concept of first aid
First aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
which is familiar with physical health crises to cover mental health. While first aid for physical health crises is a familiar notion in developed countries, conventional first aid training has not generally incorporated mental health problems.
Rationale for mental health first aid
Many people developing mental disorders do not get professional help or delay getting professional help. Someone in their social network who is informed about the options available for professional help can assist the person to get appropriate help. In mental health crises, such as a person feeling suicidal, deliberately harming themselves, having a panic attackPanic attack
Panic attacks are periods of intense fear or apprehension that are of sudden onset and of relatively brief duration. Panic attacks usually begin abruptly, reach a peak within 10 minutes, and subside over the next several hours...
or being acutely psychotic, someone with appropriate first aid skills can reduce the risk of the person coming to harm.
History of mental health first aid training
The extension of first aid training to cover mental health problems and crises is a quite recent development. The first mental health first aid training course was developed in Australia by Betty Kitchener and Anthony Jorm in 2001. This training course has now been received by over 1% of the Australian adult population. This form of training has now spread to a number of other countries (Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore, Scotland, England, Wales, United States).Research on mental health first aid training
A number of studies have been carried out showing the people who are trained in mental health first aid showed improved knowledge, confidence, attitudes and helping behaviour. There has also been research to develop international guidelines on the best strategies for mental health first aid.See also
- Mental health triageMental health triageMental health triage is a clinical function conducted at point of entry to health services which aims to assess and categorize the urgency of mental health related problems...
- A brief overview of the AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n concept for dealing with psychiatric emergencies, similar to regular triageTriageTriage or ) is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate,...
.