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Home Become an Instructor Applying to teen Mental Health First Aid

Applying to teen Mental Health First Aid: Information and Resources

teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) is an evidence-based training that was brought to the United States in partnership with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. It teaches high school students in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades how to identify, understand and help their friends with mental health and substance use challenges and how to get the help of an adult quickly. Learn more about the program and how it can benefit young people in your community.

Before teaching tMHFA to youth in grades 10-12, organizations must apply to the National Council for Behavioral Health and be registered as tMHFA Implementing Sites. Once accepted, tMHFA Implementing Sites may invite Instructor candidates to apply to attend a three-day tMHFA Instructor Training.

Prepare yourself for the application process and training with the information and resources below.

The Application Process

Schools and organizations partnering with schools and youth-serving organizations/community sites are eligible to register as tMHFA implementing sites. To register as an Implementing Site, organizations must meet certain requirements, found in section 11 of the tMHFA FAQs.

If you meet these requirements and are ready to apply to become a tMHFA Implementing Site, follow these steps:

  • Identify a Site Administrator who will submit an application on behalf of your organization. The Site Administrator should be able to certify that you have met the requirements and have a general understanding of where tMHFA will be taught, including location, grade level and number of students. Allow four to six weeks after submitting your application to receive approval.
  • After receiving approval to become a tMHFA Implementing Site, the Site Administrator will log into the Site Administrator/Site Coordinator portal and identify one or more Site Coordinators by providing their contact information to Mental Health First Aid USA. There’s no limit to the number of Site Coordinators an Implementing Site may have.
  • Once receiving an email confirming that they have been entered as a Site Coordinator, the Site Coordinator will submit each location where tMHFA will be taught under their management. They will also assign Instructor candidates to teaching locations and invite the Instructor candidates to apply to attend a three-day tMHFA Instructor Training.

APPLY FOR INSTRUCTOR TRAINING

Instructor Training Information

If you are interested in applying for a tMHFA Instructor training, your organization must apply to become a teen Implementing Site. Individual Instructor candidates are not eligible to apply apart from an approved organization.

Once your organization has been accepted as a tMHFA Implementing Site, you can invite Instructor candidates to apply for an upcoming Instructor Training.


2021 tMHFA INSTRUCTOR TRAINING SCHEDULE PDF

We will conduct Instructor Trainings virtually for as long as necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will schedule additional Instructor Trainings for the fall and winter.

Additional Resources

Additional information and resources about tMHFA are available and include:

  • Self-Care Tips for Teens During COVID-19: This toolkit provides tips to help teens take care of their mental health during COVID-19.
  • tMHFA One-pager: This document provides an overview of the program.
  • tMHFA Marketing Package: This package provides tips and resources to help you bring tMHFA to your school or youth-serving organization.
  • tMHFA FAQs: This document answers frequently asked questions about tMHFA.

If you have additional questions, email MHFAApplications@thenationalcouncil.org.

  • Mental Health First Aid training has taught the officer to ask his charges, “What happened?” instead of, “What’s wrong with you?”” –Officer Orlando Singleton
  • So many people are out there wishing for something better, hoping that help will show up. That’s what Mental Health First Aid is – it is help to get people connected to care and ultimately to get them to a better place.” –Tousha Paxton-Barnes, U.S. Army Veteran
  • I wish that every corrections officer could receive Mental Health First Aid training. I believe that our corrections system would be better because of it – the inmates would benefit, the officers would benefit and ultimately our communities would benefit.” –Lt. Virgil Meyer, Lieutenant, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
  • As adults, we sometimes forget how hard it was being an adolescent. When we see a kid who is just miserable at school, we might think they choose to be that way – or that it’s just part of adolescence. But in fact, they might be in a mental health crisis, one they certainly did not choose and do not want. When a teacher says “how can I be helpful,” that is a powerful question. ” –Alyssa Fruchtenicht, School-Based Mental Health Counselor
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