Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)
This certificate course will build knowledge on mental health disorders and teach core skills to support someone struggling with mental health problems. Every year, regardless of age, education, culture, 1 in every 5 Canadians will personally experience a mental health problem or disorder. However every Canadian will at some time in their life, be indirectly affected by mental illness through a family member, friend, colleague. Mental health admissions for Canadian youth is the second highest hospital care expenditure in the country. The rate of Canadian youth dying by suicide is the third highest in the industrialized world. Mental health first aid is an important resource that will enrich conversations, decrease stigma, and save lives.
Matthew Rico, RN, CPMHN(C), Psychotherapist
Clinician, Educator, Consultant
Contact: ricom@whatmattrs.comhttps://openingminds.org/facilitator/?uid=772
Matthew has over 12+ years of experience in mental health and is a person with lived experience. He has worked with various populations and mental health disorders in many different settings. This includes youth/adolescents to older adults receiving inpatient care. Matthew is a Registered Nurse (RN) by trade, specialized in mental health, psychotherapy, and education. He has been involved in research, quality/accreditation, and held various professional roles over his career.
Matthew has been teaching non-violent crisis intervention for 9+ years, delivered Mental Health First Aid to 2100+ Canadians since 2018, and is one of the first Canadians certified to provide Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR) training from the Zero Suicide Institute. His experience with education also includes creating workshops, presentations, and educational material for hospitals, schools, and other organizations. For instance, co-developing and delivering mindfulness education for hospital staff, co-creating a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) microcredential at Ontario Shores in collaboration with Ontario Tech, and teaching on culture and mental health bi-annually for nurses preparing to take their CNA exam.
Why is this experience relevant? Matthew brings his courses to life using his personality, passion, and years of experience to capture attention. He translates the information, adding context to the content through storytelling, metaphors, and offering expert insights.
Expect additional tips/strategies that compliment the MHFA content drawn from his service in mental health care. Participants are always invited to stay connected with him as an ongoing resource for questions/support related to mental health. Expect Matthew to stay back for open discussion once the class is done. Participants can use this time to ask questions on mental health topics or present personal cases/scenarios. Coping tools, other mental health disorders, and additional conversation strategies are popular requests.
