Mental Health First Aid - rolling out across the UK

It has been identified that mental health literacy among the public is poor, with stigmatising attitudes persisting. The public frequently encounter people experiencing mental distress in the workplace, in their families and communities, and may be ill-equipped to provide appropriate suppor t. Mental Health First Aid is a 12-hour mental health awareness programme that seeks to address this. The course aims to train the wider public, and staff in both statutory and nonstatutory sectors, in the knowledge and skills needed to engage with someone experiencing mental health problems. 'Mental Health First Aid', first developed in Australia, has now become an international training programme, and is currently being rolled out across the UK. This paper summarises the development and existing research of the programme, and its present position in the four UK regions.