MSU Extension Mental Health First Aid

2024 Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training Dates

Community Training Information

All community trainings are delivered online via Zoom unless otherwise stated. See our FAQs page for more details.

• All one-day courses run from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET unless otherwise stated.
• All two-day courses run from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET both training days for AM courses and 12:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET both training days for PM courses unless otherwise stated.

Registration for each course closes at midnight two Fridays before the course. This is about a week and a half before each course.

Community Training Dates-Registration opening soon!

• • Wednesday, January 15th AND Thursday, January 16th (PM)
  • Tuesday, January 28th AND Wednesday, January 29th (PM)

Community Training Calendar-dates posting shortly

• • Tuesday, February 11th AND Wednesday, February 12th (AM)
  • Wednesday, February 19th AND Thursday, February 20th (AM)
  • Thursday, February 27th AND Friday, February 28th (AM)
  • Wednesday, March 12th (ONE DAY)
  • Tuesday, March 18th AND Thursday, March 20th (AM)

Other Training Opportunities

We are taking very limited requests for closed-group training sessions (online or in-person). Please email msue.mhfa@msu.edu for availability and pricing.

Make sure to check out MSU Extension's other health-related programming at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/food_health/.

About Adult MHFA

Mental Health First Aid is a skills-based training that teaches people how to identify, understand and respond to signs and symptoms of a mental health or substance use challenge in adults ages 18 and over. The evidence behind the program demonstrates that it builds mental health literacy, providing an action plan that teaches people to safely and responsibly identify and address a potential mental health or substance use challenge. 

Mental Health First Aid uses real world examples in a safe and supportive learning environment to prepare participants to use the ALGEE action plan. The ALGEE action plan can be used to safely assist adult family members, neighbors, coworkers, community members, or strangers that may be experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis. Some of the mental health challenges covered are panic attacks, extreme sadness, aggressive behaviors, hallucinations, overdoses, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. 

MHFA at Michigan State University Extension

Mental Health First Aiders trained through Michigan State University Extension gain a lot of knowledge and the confidence to use this knowledge. How do we know? Because our participants have told us! Check out the testimonials tab for quotes from our Mental Health First Aiders. We also collect some group data through pre- and post-tests on the Connect learning system. This is what we found...

• Most participants consider themselves to have low to moderate knowledge on the signs and symptoms of a mental health or substance use challenge before MHFA training. After MHFA training, most participants consider themselves very knowledgeable about recognizing signs and symptoms. 
• Participants are more confident in their ability to ask a person directly about suicide after MHFA training. 
• Participants are more likely to have a supportive conversation with an adult experiencing signs and symptoms of a mental health or substance use challenge or crisis, and are more confident in their ability to be supportive in that conversation after MHFA training. 
• Participants more strongly believe that they should express concerns to and assist coworkers that they think might be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge after MHFA training. 
• Participants feel it is less difficult to refer someone to mental health or substance use professionals, as well as self-help strategies like crisis hotlines and support groups, after MHFA training. 
• Before MHFA training, most participants are not confident in their ability to respond to a substance use crisis, but after MHFA training most participants feel very confident in their ability to respond effectively. 

Mental Health in Adult Michiganders

At Michigan State University Extension, we recognize mental health as an important health concern, both nationally and locally. We hope to empower the Michigan community to talk about mental health, learn about the mental health resources available to them, and recognize when someone within their community could use some help.

Unfortunately, some mental health challenges are increasing among adult Michiganders. The below table and corresponding list demonstrate some of the key mental health challenges Michiganders are facing. Additionally, the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and existing social and cultural disparities have disproportionately affected mental health and access to mental health services for peoples of certain occupation, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic location, lived experience, and age. This means that certain groups of people in Michigan and nationally are experiencing higher or lower rates than what is reported on this page.

The good news is that while the support available may be different from individual to individual based on personal characteristics, there are many kinds of resources. These resources can be formal or informal and help to meet the various needs of individuals living with or supporting someone with mental illness. You can learn more about resources and other initiatives from Michigan State University Extension in the Resources tab, located at the top of this page. 

Key Measures of Mental Health in Adult Michiganders from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. 

• Experienced any mental illness not including substance disorders in the past year
  • More than 1 in 5 (22.3%) adult Michiganders experienced mental illness in 2020. This number has been increasing compared to previous years. Michigan has a higher percentage than the national average (20.8%). 
• Experienced a substance use disorder in the past year
  • 1 out of 6 (16.7%) adult Michiganders had a substance use disorder in 2020. This percentage increased, more than doubling, since 2019. Michigan has a higher percentage than the national average (15.4%). 
• Engaged in binge alcohol use in a given month
  • 1 out of 4 (25.2%) adult Michiganders engaged in binge alcohol use in a given month in 2020. Binge alcohol use is defined as have 5 or more drinks for males or 4 or more drinks for females within a couple of hours. This number has decreased slightly compared to previous years. Michigan has a higher percentage than the national average (24.9%). 
• Engaged in pain reliever misuse in the past year
  • About 1 in 30 (3.4%) adult Michiganders misused pain relievers in 2020. Misuse is defined as taking medication not prescribed to oneself, taking it longer than prescribed, taking a larger dose than prescribed, or taking it more often than prescribed. This number has decreased slightly compared to previous years. Michigan has a lower percentage than the national average (3.6%).
• Experienced serious thoughts of suicide in the past year
  • 1 out of 21 (4.8%) adult Michiganders had serious thoughts of suicide in 2020. This number has increased slightly compared to previous years. Michigan has the same percentage compared to the national average (4.8%). 

Data are from the 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. This is the most recent state-specific data available as of December 2022.