View article

Aim: Most young people fail to receive professional treatment for mental disorders; however, they do indicate a preference for sharing problems with peers. This article describes key messages about knowledge and actions to form the basis of a basic Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course for adolescents to increase recognition of and help seeking for mental health problems by teaching the best knowledge and helping actions a young person can undertake to support a peer with a mental health problem.

Methods: The Delphi method was used to achieve consensus among Australian and Canadian youth mental health experts regarding the importance of statements that describe helping actions a young person can take, and information they should have, to support a friend with a mental health problem. There were two expert panels, one consisting of 36 youth mental health consumer advocates and the other of 97 …