Courses & Seminars

YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
Mental health is the key health issue for young people in Australia. The prevalence of
mental health problems among adolescents aged 13 to 17 years lies at 19% and
increases to 27% among young adults aged 18 to 24. This means up to 1 in 4 young
people in Australia are likely to be suffering from a mental health problem. Early
intervention targeted at young people aged 13 – 25 years is a community priority and is
required if we are to reduce the burden of disease created by these disorders.

WHAT IS YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID?
The Youth Mental Health First Aid Program has been designed to train adults to assist
young people in mental health crisis situations and/or in the early stages of mental
health problems and is now considered essential training for anyone working with
young people.

The 2nd edition Youth Mental Health First Aid has a number of improvements over the
1st edition, the major improvement being the development of a new manual based on
the Mental Health First Aid Guidelines. These guidelines were developed using the
consensus of an expert panel of mental health consumers, carers and professionals from
developed English speaking countries.

COURSE CONTENT
The Crisis Situations covered are:

• Suicidal behaviour
• Non suicidal self injury (self-harm)
• Acute stress reaction
• Panic attacks
• Acute psychotic behaviour

The Mental Health Problems covered are:

• Depression
• Anxiety disorders
• Psychotic disorders
• Substance use disorders
• Eating disorders