teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) is a training program for teens brought to the United States by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing in partnership with Born This Way Foundation. It teaches teens in grades 10-12, or ages 15-18, how to identify, understand and respond to signs of a mental health or substance use challenge in their friends and peers. The training gives teens the skills to have supportive conversations with their friends and teaches them how to get help from a responsible and trusted adult. Learn more about how tMHFA can benefit young people in your community.
There are three ways to teach and learn tMHFA.
Any school, youth-serving organization or organization in partnership with a school that wants to bring tMHFA training to teens at their site can apply to become a tMHFA Site. Schools and organizations must be accepted to teach tMHFA.
If you are interested in bringing tMHFA to teens in your community, complete this form to get in touch with a member of our team to learn more about the requirements and begin your application.
Instructors are on the frontlines of the program, training teens in their communities how to assess, respond and bring in a trusted adult if a peer seems to be having a mental health or substance use challenge. Instructors teach from a national curriculum, tailor discussions to their participants and compile a list of local resources for help. Instructor candidates can be certified to teach tMHFA in-person or online.
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing requires that adults who teach the tMHFA program to teens attend a tMHFA Instructor training to be certified in the curriculum.
If you are interested in applying for a tMHFA Instructor training, complete this form to get in touch with a member of our team. Whether you are still looking for a site to teach tMHFA, or you have an organization in mind, you must speak with a member of our team before you can apply to become a tMHFA Instructor. Our team can assist in answering any questions you may have and next steps. See here for a schedule of upcoming tMHFA Instructor Trainings.
We provide tMHFA sites with several resources to inform parents and guardians about the program and provide parents and guardians the opportunity to reach out to someone at the school or organization if they have questions or concerns. All parents and guardians have the opportunity to opt their child out of taking the tMHFA course.
In addition, an important component of the tMHFA program is encouraging teens to reach out to parent or trusted adult. For this reason, sites are encouraged to provide Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training — our course for adults who work with youth – before the tMHFA course begins or concurrently with the tMHFA course to create opportunities for increased trust and shared understanding between teens and their parents/caregivers.
Parents, guardians and caregivers are encouraged to help bring tMHFA to their community and young people. Use these resources to advocate for tMHFA at your teens’ school or youth-serving organization:
View this one-page overview for detailed information about tMHFA pricing, discounts, and items for consideration.
| Client | Product Bundle | What's Included | Price |
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| Individual School or Youth-serving Organization | tMHFA Site Bundle: Instructor training and manuals |
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| School District or Enterprise/Large Organization (purchasing and coordinating for multiple schools or sites) | Private Instructor training Bundle: Instructor training and manuals for up to 16 Instructor candidates |
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| Independent Instructor Candidate (partnering with a school and/or organization. This is for independent Instructors who are not affiliated with an organization and have not yet secured a school or organization to teach at.) | tMHFA Instructor training for Independent Instructors |
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| Individual Schools or Youth-serving Organizations of any size | Manuals only |
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