The Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery
Abstract
Generally speaking, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a program that to train helpers to help a person who is developing a mental health problem and/or experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or in a mental health crisis. The rationale of training helper in traditional MHFA is that many people developing mental disorders do not get professional help or delay getting professional help. They may talk to someone in their social network about their mental health issues. With appropriate mental health first aid skills, this someone (helper) may reduce the risk of the person coming to harm and assist the person to seek professional help. However, in some cultures (e.g., in the Chinese culture), people, in particular young people, may not discuss their mental health issues with someone in their social network because of the stigma of mental health. Considering such a cultural context, providing MHFA in Everyday Life to help people to deal with their mental health issues in their everyday life is as important as MHFA in a mental health crisis. This collaborative project among James Cook University, Taiyuan Psychiatric Hospital, Shanxi University and Shanxi Medical University aims to develop and provide a five-unit training program of MHFA in Everyday Life for university students in China. The topics of the five units are: 1) Mental health conditions across the lifespan; 2) Mental health and wellbeing in the Chinese culture; 3) Psychological resilience; 4) Mindfulness and mental health; and 5) Emotional intelligence
