CBH Regional Mental Health Program

About the CBH Regional Mental Health Program

Over the last three years, MIFWA has partnered with CBH Group, Lifeline WA, Youth Focus, the Black Dog Institute, and regional grain-growing communities across WA in the CBH Regional Mental Health Program, supporting the mental health and well-being of people living in regional grain-growing communities across WA.

As part of the program, MIFWA provides a variety of mental health and suicide prevention training and workshops for young people (aged 11-19), school communities, adults, and the wider community through a mixture of online and face-to-face delivery.

Courses include:

Standard Mental Health First Aid
Youth Mental Health First Aid
Teen Mental Health First Aid

Upcoming workshops:

Coorow | Youth Mental Health First Aid
Mon 20 May – Tue 21 May 2024, 9:00am to 4:30pm
Supported by CBH Group and Coorow Community Resource Centre
Learn more and register
Kondinin | Standard Mental Health First Aid
Thu 8 Aug – Fri 9 Aug 2024, 9:00am to 4:00pm
Supported by CBH Group, Kondinin Community Resource Centre and Act Belong Commit
Learn more and register

The Program Reach So Far

Over the last three years, we’ve held 56 training courses and workshops and trained 761 people across regional grain-growing areas of WA.

This includes 614 mental health first aiders (Teen, Youth, Standard and Community) who together form an invaluable community-based de-escalation network that becomes more powerful with each person trained.

The Power of Community Partnerships

A program like this could only be successful with strong community partnerships.

We are grateful to have collaborated with 27 Community Resource Centres, Shires District High Schools, Agricultural and Residential Colleges, and community groups and members to deliver training tailored to the needs of local communities.

And with the CBH Regional Mental Health Program being extended for another year (until September 2024), we look forward to collaborating with even more partners to support regional grain-growing communities.

“I really enjoy training in regional communities and seeing the adults and young people embrace the message of looking after their mental health and also embracing learning on how to support others with their mental health. For me it has been a return to the Wheatbelt where I spent my youth giving me an unique insight into the challenges young people face regionally and so very pleased to know they are getting access to this important training opportunity.”

Romy Pritchard, MIFWA Trainer

About MIFWA’s Mental Health Training

Youth Mental Health First Aid

Learn how to assist young people who are developing a mental health problem, experiencing worsening of a mental health problem or in a mental health crisis.

Youth Mental Health First Aid is a two-day course that teaches adults about;

adolescent development
the signs and symptoms of common and disabling mental health problems in young people, including crisis situations
how and where to get help when a young person is developing a mental illness, and
what help research has shown effectiveness and how to provide first aid in crisis situations.

The course is for adults who work, live or care for adolescents, such as teachers, school support staff, parents, sports coaches, community group leaders and youth workers.

“I couldn’t recommend this higher for anyone wanting to increase their knowledge of mental health in youths or increase their awareness of signs and symptoms. If you have the opportunity to do this accreditation, grab it. The more awareness there is, the more young lives could be saved.”

Attendee, Youth Mental Health First Aid regional course

Standard Mental Health First Aid

Standard Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training helps mobilise and empower adults in the workplace and community by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to recognise, understand and respond to another adult experiencing a mental health problem or mental health crisis.

Over two days, people learn

how to assist adults who are developing a mental health problem, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or in a mental health crisis until appropriate professional help is received or the crisis resolves.
how and where to get help when a person is developing a mental illness, and
what help research has shown to be effective and how to provide first aid in crisis situations.

“My brain is spinning and I know I will have to process it all over the next few weeks, but I am so much more confident to approach the issues with people than I was before. I had a great conversation with my husband this morning in the car around suicide and eating disorders, so already passing on the knowledge!”

Attendee, Mental Health First Aid regional course

Teen Mental Health First Aid

The Teen MHHFA course teaches high school students in Years 7-9 and Years 10-12 how to provide mental health first aid to their friends.

Held over three face-to-face classroom sessions, the course teaches young people:

about the different types of mental health problems and mental health crisis situations in young people
how to recognise changes in a friends’ thinking, feelings or behaviour that may indicate the presence of a mental health problem, and
how to offer initial mental first aid support and how to connect them with a trusted adult.