Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Offers a Mental Health First Aid Course

The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) is offering free Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course certification each month. MDVA also offers this training to its employees. Much like physical first aid, the MHFA course allows a layperson to help someone through a mental health crisis until professional help arrives. Mental Health First Aid is taught much like typical first aid or CPR in a course and is about eight hours long.

There are no pre-requisites or educational requirements to enroll in the MHFA certification course. Anyone with a personal and/or professional interest is encouraged to complete MHFA. One of the many impactful results of this class is a sense of empowerment to engage in awkward and difficult conversations with a genuine response and ability to connect others to necessary community helpers and resources.

This class will be held virtually and requires 2 hours of self-paced pre-coursework before attending the 6 hour instructor-led, virtual portion of the class. Trainings will be held Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on February 26 and March 12. Register on the MDVA website.