AN INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL HEALTH - The Nossal Institute for ...

have an important role to play in providing assistance and helping the person and his/her
family seek appropriate help.
Not all people with a mental disorder need specialist psychiatric care but many need to be
guided towards appropriate professional help (this will be covered later in the program).
Five basic steps can be taken to help people suffering from a mental disorder 5 :
1. Assess the risk of suicide and harm to self or others
2. Listen without judgement
3. Give reassurance and information
4. Encourage the person to get appropriate professional help
5. Encourage self help treatments.
Activity 9 : Mental Health First Aid in Action
Time : 40 minutes
Purpose : To teach participants how to respond to someone experiencing a mental
disorder in their own community.
Materials : Four Case studies A, B, C & D (found in Appendix E) each describing
a person with a different mental disorder (schizophrenia, anxiety,
depression and bipolar disorder).
Directions : Step 1
Give a presentation based on the ‘Information for Presentation’ box below.
INFORMATION FOR PRESENTATION
Mental Health First Aid Actions
1. Assess the risk of suicide or harm to self or others
People with mental disorders sometimes feel so overwhelmed and helpless about their
life, the future appears hopeless.
Engage the person in conversation about how they are feeling and let them describe
why they are feeling this way.
Ask the person if they are having thoughts of suicide. If they are, find out if they have a plan
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AN INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL HEALTH