Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) has been offered to the Mason community since 2014. The training provides information about the signs and symptoms of common mental illnesses and a strategy for connecting with those demonstrating such indicators. MHFA training develops basic skills; it does not transform participants into healthcare professionals. Since mental health concerns are common, it is important to be familiar with these signs and symptoms and willing to engage in helpful conversations to encourage those who are struggling to connect with appropriate professional care.
Participants who complete this 8-hour training earn a 3-year certification through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
Open training sessions for the Mason community (faculty, staff, students, and alumni) are offered throughout the year. Typically, the 8-hour training is split into two 4-hour sessions.
Complete MHFA training to learn how to help someone suffering from a mental health crisis, increase your mental health literacy, and dismantle the stigma associated with mental health and substance use challenges.
The 8-hour training will be split into two 4-hour sessions. You must attend both sessions to earn the three-year Mental Health First Aid certification. If you have questions, please contact Katie Clare at [email protected].
Join us for these upcoming sessions:
- May 20 and 21 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. – Register here
- July 22 and 24 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Registration information coming soon
- August 13 and 14 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. – Registration information coming soon
Mason’s facilitators also run closed sessions for specific campus groups. If you would like to pursue a session for a particular group, contact Katie Clare. If you’re not a member of the Mason community, we encourage you to explore options through Fairfax County’s Community Services Board.
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” – Glenn Close
UNIV 372 Mental Health First Aid Course for Mason Students
Mason students can take UNIV 372, Mental Health First Aid, for up to 1 academic credit in addition to the MHFA certification. During the Fall 2025 semester, we will offer UNIV 372 with two options.:
- Synchronous online meetings on Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. from August 25 to October 12
- In-person meetings on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. from October 20 to December 8
Meet Your Facilitators
Katie Clare, trained as a facilitator in 2014, has welcomed the opportunity to bring this training to the university community. She secured this training as an elective option in the Mason Advisor Certificate program. This has led many members of Mason’s advising community to participate. She also led the effort to translate the training into the partial-term, credit-bearing course. Her goal is to create safe spaces for conversations on mental health and the ways in which stigma can get in the way. She wants participants to feel capable of seeing and helping those who may be struggling. In her work to support well-being at Mason, she’s an advocate for including psychological well-being in those larger well-being efforts.
Patrice Levinson, a Nurse Practitioner at Mason’s Student Health Services, began teaching MHFA to faculty and staff in 2014. Because mental health problems are common and most people don’t know how to help, she believes this training is vital. She believes it is especially important for college communities because mental illnesses usually develop before age 25, and this 8-hour MHFA training provides a format for discussing the stigma of mental illness and learning the signs and symptoms of common mental illnesses. She also values the opportunity to teach the MHFA UNIV 370 course, as it allows students to explore their own experiences with mental health concerns with their friends, family, and themselves while earning that 1 credit that is sometimes needed for graduation.
Bibliography
Katie Clare and Patrice Levinson, “Adapting Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training for the College Curriculum,” poster presented at Innovations in Teaching and Learning, George Mason University, September 2019.
Katie Clare and Patrice Levinson, “Mental Health in the Classroom,” workshop, Innovations in Teaching and Learning, George Mason University, September 2019.
Katie Clare and Patrice Levinson, “Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training for the College Curriculum: An Innovative Approach for Teaching Students About Mental Illnesses and Promoting Mental Health Well-Being,” poster presented at the American College Health Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, May 2019.
Katie Clare and Patrice Levinson, “Implementing Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training for the College Curriculum: An Innovative Approach for Teaching Students About Mental Illnesses and Promoting Mental Health Well-Being,” workshop, UL Student Success Symposium, George Mason University, January 2018.