I am a certified instructor of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) for adults and youth. MHFA is an 8-hour course that teaches you how to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The training helps you identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training is designed for groups of 15-25 individuals.
Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack — even if you have no clinical training — Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health related crisis. In the MHFA course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help.
Mental Health First Aid is an international program proven to be effective. Peer-reviewed studies show that individuals trained in the program:
- Grow their knowledge of signs, symptoms and risk factors of mental illnesses and addictions.
- Can identify multiple types of professional and self-help resources for individuals with a mental illness or addiction.
- Increase their confidence in and likelihood to help an individual in distress.
- Show increased mental wellness themselves.
Studies also show that the program reduces the social distance created by negative attitudes and perceptions of individuals with mental illnesses.
Topics Covered
Before you can know how to help, you need to know when to help. We call this mental health literacy – or a basic understanding of what different mental illnesses and addictions are, how they can affect a person’s daily life, and what helps individuals experiencing these challenges get well. In the training I cover:
- Depression and mood disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- Trauma
- Psychosis
- Substance Use disorders
In MHFA training I teach about recovery and resiliency – the belief that individuals experiencing these challenges can and do get better, and use their strengths to stay well.
Interventions Learned
When you take a course, you learn how to apply the Mental Health First Aid action plan in a variety of situations, including when someone is experiencing:
- Panic attacks
- Suicidal thoughts or behaviors
- Nonsuicidal self-injury
- Acute psychosis (e.g., hallucinations or delusions)
- Overdose or withdrawal from alcohol or drug use
- Reaction to a traumatic event
The opportunity to practice — through role plays, scenarios, and activities — makes it easier to apply these skills in a real-life situation.
Youth Mental Health First Aid
Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur and disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD).
Please contact me for more information or to arrange for a group training.
Bijan Amirshahi, L.M.F.T., L.P.C.C. 4000 Barranca Parkway, Suite 250 Irvine, CA 92604 Non-emergency Texts Only (949) 533-3177 bijan@bijanamirshahi.com www.bijanamirshahi.com
Bijan Amirshahi 
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