Teen Mental Health First Aid

If you are interested in registering for our tMHFA Instructor training, you must first have an initial consultation to discuss implementation requirements and sign the tenet contract.

If you have not already had an initial consultation, please contact Anne Hamel at AHamel@mhamd.org or MHFAtraining@mhamd.org to schedule one before proceeding with this registration form.

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Adolescence is a time of critical change and development, and the time when mental health challenges may first emerge. Those challenges may be the cause for falling grades, problems with close relationships and substance use. Teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) teaches teens in grades 10-12, or ages 15-18, how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among their friends and peers. Adults can take comfort in knowing that the teens in the lives will be prepared to provide support for their peers, better cope with mental health challenges themselves, and get assistance from a trusted adult during times of need.

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. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing (NCMW) requires that adults who teach the tMHFA program to teens attend a tMHFA Instructor training to be certified in the curriculum.

Please review the following requirements and tenet contract for tMHFA before registering.

• Tenet Contract or by selecting the tab labeled “Tenet Contract” located at the top of this page.
• Implementation Requirements for Teen Sites

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Instructor training is a train-the-trainer model, teaching candidates how to deliver tMHFA. Instructor candidates must attend a multiday training, in addition to several hours of self-paced pre-work, which prepares them to facilitate the tMHFA. Successful accreditation is not guaranteed, instructor candidates must be present and engaged for the entire training and demonstrate their ability to facilitate a designated section of the course material to national standards through observation at the end of the class.

Participants who try to multi-task during the training will have difficulty being successful.

Training Includes:

• Physical materials and teaching kit
• Self-paced prework
• 3-days of live, virtual instruction
• Self-paced postwork
• Ongoing instructor support and professional development through the Mental Health Association of Maryland