Mental health ‘first aid’ training has no clear medical benefit

A widely used mental health “first aid” course has no good evidence showing that it has any medical benefits, nor has it been carefully investigated to see whether it could cause harm, a major review of the research has found.

The idea behind the Mental Health First Aid programme, first developed in 2000, is to train members of the public to support people with conditions such as depression and anxiety and advise them how to seek medical help. It …