Are you certified to teach Mental Health First Aid?

Betsy Garrison and Shari Moxley, faculty members in the School of Human Environmental Science's human development and family sciences program, are interested in creating a MHFA instructor community at the U of A.

They have been teaching adult MHFA on campus and with local community organizations since 2022. Anyone certified as an MHFA trainer and interested in being a part of this community is encouraged to contact Moxley at moxley@uark.edu.

Mental Health First Aid is an early-intervention public education program. It teaches adults how to recognize signs and symptoms that suggest a potential mental health challenge, how to listen non-judgmentally and give reassurance to a person who may be experiencing a mental health challenge, and how to refer a person to appropriate professional support and services.

Mental Health First Aid was created in Australia in 2000 by Betty Kitchener, an educator and mental health consumer, and professor Tony Jorm, a mental health researcher. In 2008, the National Council, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Missouri Department of Mental Health brought Mental Health First Aid to the United States.

The U of A MHFA Community Group will meet to discuss ways to collaborate to host Mental Health First Aid training workshops, events and provide other mental health awareness and education activities.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.