An event like the recent Arizona shooting tragedy makes us re-evaluate mental health care in the United States. Are we truly doing everything in our power to understand mental illness? Are there enough resources to provide that education?

Luckily, the development of Mental Health First Aid has been able to answer those questions with a confident "yes." While there is still progress to be made, this program continues to gain support, thanks to its numerous benefits.

What is Mental Health First Aid?

Mental Health First Aid consists of interactive sessions that introduce participants to warning signs and risk factors of mental illness, allowing them to build an understanding that leads to an overview of common treatments. It’s an immersion into the world of mental health care and the various strategies that one can use to help those in need.

What exactly is the importance of a program like Mental Health First Aid?

For those looking to get involved in the Mental Health First Aid courses, here are just a few of the benefits:

• Gives you a chance to help others

• There is a greater likelihood that you will advise people to seek professional help

• Improved concordance with health professionals about treatments

• Stigmatizing attitudes regarding mental illness and mental health care will decrease

Naturally, these are just a few of the many benefits, but those who are trained in Mental Health First Aid courses will find themselves with a more complete outlook on mental illness.

The success of Mental Health First Aid does have a strong evidence base. After four detailed studies, nearly a dozen journal articles, and multiple studies, there is proof that a program such as this is having a positive impact on the public. People are looking for avenues to learn more about mental illness, and this program continues to provide that information.

The program now exists in 14 countries, and it continues to grow. It is obvious that the public is clamoring for opportunities like this - educational programs that provide opportunities to help those in need. It is the hope of national mental health care organizations that something like Mental Health First Aid can eventually become as common as CPR and First Aid. Only then will the stigma surrounding mental illness dissolve into a united desire to understand these issues and develop effective solutions.

Courses for this program can be found all over the country, allowing providers to improve mental health care in a wide variety of communities.