Become an Accredited Mental Health First Aider!

Around 1 in 5 Australian adults experience a common mental illness each year. Understanding how to talk about mental health and help someone in need are important skills. Many people feel uncomfortable and unprepared when thinking about starting a conversation with someone they are concerned about. During a MHFA course, participants will learn how to recognise the signs and symptoms of mental health problems and learn the skills to feel confident and able to help.

Having mental health first aid skills means that you can assist someone developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis and make a real difference to your community.

Mental health problems covered:

Depression
Anxiety problems
Psychosis
Substance use problems

Mental health crisis situations covered:

Suicidal thoughts and behaviours
Non-suicidal self-injury
Panic attacks
Traumatic Events
Severe psychotic states
Severe effects from alcohol or other drug use
Aggressive behaviours

Course Format & Venue:

The course is run over 2 days, from 9am - 4pm (including breaks). The venue is the Banksia Room at the Royal Hobart Botanical Gardens - with plenty of parking options, public transport access, the venue also allows students the opportunity to enjoy the gardens during their lunch break or at the end of the day before returning home.

Tea, coffee and water are provided in the room throughout the course. Succulent Restaurant is located onsite at the gardens if you wish to enjoy lunch there, however the 1 hour lunch break allows ample time to head elsewhere if you desire.

The course is split into 4 sessions across the 2 days, and students must attend all sessions in order to become accredited.

About the instructor:

This course will be taught by Zac Lockhart, the Founder of Mental Health Learning Australia and former Young Tasmanian of The Year.

Zac is an engaging & experienced instructor, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the courses he facilitates, and was recognised in 2016 as Tasmania's Young Australian of the Year for his efforts in Mental Health Advocacy. In the years since, Zac has completed extensive study in the field of business, including a Masters of Business Administration (MBA), and deeply understands the importance of mentally healthy workplaces.

Zac currently delivers training for both public courses, and private bookings for organisations wishing to train their staff in Mental Health First Aid.

In addition, Zac delivers regular MHFA training to The Salvation Army in Tasmania, where he is employed part-time as the Night Street Team Coordinator for Tasmania. Zac enjoys bringing this experience of providing Mental Health First Aid into his courses, providing engaging anecdotes and stories that add depth, understanding and context to the course content.

Recent Student Feedback:

"I enjoyed the mental health first aid course very much. The instructor Zac was welcoming and very knowledgeable. The group atmosphere was also welcoming and I enjoyed the group tasks. The content was informative and easy to understand and the instructor presented the course in a way, that I felt comfortable to ask questions."

"Zac was absolutely brilliant as an instructor. He was engaging and ensured that the whole class were involved in both discussion and activities. It was obvious that he had strong knowledge of the area of learning. He was so casual and relaxed, yet very professional in his approach."

"Zac did an excellent role, made every participant feel like an important member of the class and made sure the environment was safe and allowed for candid discussion where appropriate"

"Zac delivered the course content in a very professional manner with a 'no question is a stupid question' manner. I felt comfortable asking questions as required. The content was presented in an interesting way with a great ice breaker to kickstart the training and group atmosphere."

"Excellent instructor, knowledgeable and easy to interact with."

"Zac did a fantastic job, I found him engaging and easily approached, he made it interesting and easily navigated the material with time constraints. Very good trainer."