Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)
To support healthy, growing communities, Atrium Health offers a free Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course. MHFA is a skills-based training course that teaches participants about mental health and substance use issues.
Our MHFA course comes in a variety of formats to fit your needs, including:
- In-person: The entire 8-hour course is taught in person, in a classroom-based learning environment.
- Virtual: The first session is a 2-hour, self-paced, online course. The second session is online and 5.5 hours. It is lead by an instructor via Zoom.
- Blended: The first session is taught through a 2-hour, self-paced, online course. The second session is 5.5 hours. It is taught in person, in a classroom-based environment.
After taking the course, people report that they have a better understanding of mental illness and feel more empowered to help others.
MHFA training is available to individuals and groups across the community, including:
- Employers
- Faith communities
- Public health and safety officials
- Veterans’ organizations
- Advocacy groups
- Youth/adolescent groups and agencies
- Latino organizations (the program is available in Spanish, as well as English)
For more information about hosting a class, email MHFA@AtriumHealth.org or call 704-631-1028.
MHFA was developed by the National Council on Behavioral Health in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Missouri Department of Mental Health. Mental Health First Aid is a skills-based training course that teaches participants about mental health and substance-use issues.