Mental health first aid
****This course is now postponed to a date to be advised***** as at 8 July 2022. Please email olivia.yap@australian.physio to be updated with new dates
Physiotherapists are involved in the care of people from all walks of life. One in four people will experience a mental health problem at some stage in their life plus c Comorbid mental health problems are common amongst people who access physiotherapy services including but not limited to those experiencing chronic pain, chronic physical illness, multiple pain areas or following a traumatic event. In Australia, approximately one in five adults will experience mental illness in any given year and physiotherapists and other health care professionals can expect to have close contact with someone experiencing a mental illness or a mental health problem.
Lack of knowledge and stigmatising attitudes about mental illness may prevent people from seeking help or providing appropriate support because they do not know how. Stigmatised attitudes and lack of knowledge about mental health conditions are not limited to the general public and can impact on healthcare workers interactions with patients. Stigmatising attitudes can reinforce disempowerment, loss of self-belief and a sense of shame in the person with comorbid mental health problems.3,4 It has been suggested that training of healthcare workers in mental health literacy is essential to ensure appropriate support and referrals are made for people with mental illness.5 This MHFA course will improve mental health literacy of physiotherapists.
Learning outcomes
- Identify Mental illness, risk factors, prevalence and impact, appropriate interventions and recovery
- Explain the role of mental health first aid and the MHFA action plan
- Identify, discuss and recognise signs and symptoms, interventions for depression
- Apply MHFA action plan for depression
- Identify, discuss and recognise signs and symptoms, interventions for anxiety problems
- Apply MHFA action plan for anxiety problems
- Identify, discuss and recognise and symptoms, interventions for psychosis
- Apply MHFA action plan for psychosis
- Identify, discuss and recognise signs and symptoms, interventions for substance use problems