1 in 4 People Worldwide
will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives.
Source: World Health Organization
Mental illness is not a personal failure. In fact, if there is failure, it is to be found in the way we have responded to people with mental and brain disorders.
Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of WHO
Mental Health Matters is an organization that believes mental health is as important as physical health. Because of this, we are working towards educating everyone about mental health by offering mental health workshops and training courses (like Mental Health First Aid) and advocating for social change.
What is Mental Health First Aid?Who is Danielle?
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a training course to give members of the public the skills to help a person developing a mental health problem, experiencing the worsening of an existing mental health problem, or in a mental health crisis.
Just like physical first aid is provided until medical treatment can be obtained, MHFA is given until appropriate support is found or until the crisis is resolved.
Think about the last time someone called you something you didn’t like. Do you want to do that to someone else?
When we talk about mental health and suicide, some of our language can inadvertently reinforce stigma or shame. There are many simple ways to start introducing using safer language when talking about mental health.
To read more about safe language, check out the Mental Health Commission’s Language Matters Cheat Sheet by clicking the button below!
We were so excited to see supportive and safe language used in ABC/CityTV’s “A Million Little Things” — check out the clip from season three’s twelfth episode below!
Please note that this video talks about death by suicide.
Self-care can be defined in many ways:
call: 800-273-TALK [8255]
text: “CONNECT” to 85511
online chat: SuicidePreventionLifeline.org/chat
call: 833-456-4566
text: 45645 (4pm-12am EST)
I’m Danielle Chouinard and I run Mental Health Matters and facilitate our workshops. I graduated as a social worker and I volunteer in the community giving me knowledge while still focusing on my personal experiences in my work. In the Mental Health First Aid course, I incorporate my personal experiences to help engage learners in understanding the importance of the supporting skills we’re learning. By sharing my experiences with others, I teach how to recognize mental health problems and support safety and the building of coping strategies with individuals.
In all my workshops, I model non-judgemental and compassionate conversations about mental health, suicide, and crises. I also emphasize the importance of empathy in the context of mental health problems or crises and I see it as one of the key aspects to learning and instructing Mental Health First Aid. I look forward to learning with you!
Looking to learn more, book a training, or join a Mental Health First Aid course? Please send us a message using the form below and we will be in touch soon!
