Mental Health First Aid for problem drinking & problem drug use
You may recognise when someone close to you is developing an alcohol or drug problem, but you may not know when, and how to respond effectively.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) guidelines for Problem Drinking and Problem Drug Use provide information about when, and how to encourage someone with alcohol and/or drug problems to seek appropriate help early.
These guidelines have been developed in collaboration with the MHFA team at
Orygen Youth Health and the
University of Melbourne.
The MHFA guidelines provide practical strategies on:
- recognising problem drinking/problem drug use
- approaching someone if there is concern about their drinking/drug use
- supporting someone to change their drinking/drug use & how to respond if they are unwilling to change
- facilitating professional help-seeking & response if professional help is refused
- managing alcohol-related medical emergencies or drug-related crises
The MHFA guidelines are endorsed by an international expert panel of clinicians, consumers and carers.
The guidelines for helping an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person have been developed with a panel of Australian health experts.
The following articles describe the development of MHFA guidelines.
A film illustrating how to apply the first aid actions endorsed in MHFA guidelines was developed with funding from the Australian Government.
The video guides demonstrate: how to recognise when someone's drug use has become a problem; how to approach the person about your concerns; how to provide initial support and information; and how to guide the person to seek professional help.
See these videos >>
MHFA 12-hour training course
MHFA website offers other guidelines on:
- depression
- psychosis
- panic attacks
- suicidal thoughts and behaviours
- non-suicidal self-injury
- child & adult trauma
- eating disorders