MHFA Basic is intended for adults interacting with adults (18 years and older). This courses focuses on the four most common mental health disorders including substance related, mood related, anxiety and trauma related, and psychotic disorders. Participants who take this course are well prepared to interact confidently about mental health with their family, friends, communities, and workplaces.

MHFA Adults who Interact with Youth is intended for an adult audience whose primary focus is youth (aged 14-25). In addition to the four most common disorders discussed in MHFA BASIC, this course includes instruction about eating disorders and deliberate self-injury. Participants who take this course are well prepared to interact confidently about mental health with the young people in their lives, including at schools, extra-curricular activities, social services, family, friends, and communities.

Mental Health First Aid First Nations is a spark that awakens the courage to have open and honest conversations about mental health with family, friends, and others. It is part of a larger journey that helps strengthen the connections within communities.

This course is for everybody who takes it in a First Nations community setting. It is designed to speak to First Nations participants about mental health, where participants reflect on their life experiences and acknowledge the historical context of that experience. And from this, explore ways to restore balance on their journey to wellness.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Inuit is a course designed by Inuit, for Inuit and for those who work with Inuit. The three-day course encourages people across Inuit Nunangat to have conversations about mental wellness with family, friends, and colleagues. Addressing the stigma associated with mental health and wellness can be challenging, MHFA Inuit provides a foundation from which participants have an opportunity to learn from their own people in a culturally safe, and competent environment. 

MHFA Inuit is delivered by two facilitators to ensure cultural competency. Namely:
• Inuit Nunangat is made up of unique communities with majority Inuit populations
• Community supports are different in each region
• Inuit realities, culture and language can vary depending on community and region

The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Canada Northern Peoples course is guided by a number of important principles such as respect, cooperation, resilience, community, harmony, generosity and resourcefulness. Many of these values are used to guide Aboriginal ways of living. All of these values are considered important and many are interconnected with one another. This course was designed to respect the importance of holism and balance. That means that the whole person - mental, physical, social, emotional and spiritual parts of a person - must be considered when providing mental health first aid. It also means that for someone to be healthy, all of those parts must be in balance.

MHFA Seniors is an adaptation of the MHFA Basic course that is intended to increase the capacity of seniors, families (informal caregivers), friends, staff in care settings and communities to promote mental health in seniors, prevent mental illness and suicide wherever possible in seniors and intervene early when problems first emerge.

The course content and resource materials are based on best available evidence and practice guidelines and were developed in consultation with Canadian experts in the field of geriatric psychiatry. The curriculum was developed for the Mental Health Commission of Canada at Trillium Health Partners, a healthcare organizations which priorities seniors’ health and wellness.

Studies of the mental health of Canadian Veterans show that, although the majority were doing well, a number suffer from mental health problems that affect their functioning, wellbeing, and utilization of health and rehabilitation services.

The MHFA Veteran Community course was developed through: funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs; input from a number of stakeholders including veterans, veterans organizations and Veterans Affairs Canada; and, pilot testing. Its goal is to improve our collective capacity to recognize and assist with addictions, as well as mental health problems and illnesses, by supporting Veterans in the application of evidence-based practices in service delivery, the workplace and personal interactions.

MHFA for the Veteran Community is tailored to address the needs of Veterans and the people who care for, and about, them. Participants will vary, but all will have some connection to the Veteran community, such as: Veterans themselves, former RCMP members, family members, friends, relatives, health professionals, providers of Veteran services, volunteers and other caring community members.

The course is being funded by Veterans Affairs Canada and is offered at no cost to members of the Veteran community.