Requesting Youth Mental Health First Aid 

from the Tribal TTA Center

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA)

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teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond 

to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among children and adolescents ages 

12-18. This fact sheet provides information on what communities should know prior to 

requesting YMHFA training and technical assistance (TTA).

Course Overview

The 6.5-hour YMHFA course focuses on recognizing the patterns of thoughts, feelings, 

behaviors, and appearance that show there might be a problem. Participants are taught the 

MHFA Action Plan so they can apply it to non-crisis and crisis scenarios. YMHFA is comprised of 

seven learning segments consisting of the following:

• Segment 1: Overview of Youth Mental Health First Aid

• Segment 2: Mental Health and Illness in Youth

• Segment 3: Typical Adolescent Development

• Segment 4: Signs and Symptoms of Mental Health Challenges in Youth

• Segment 5: Using the Mental Health First Aid Action Plan in a Non-crisis Scenario

• Segment 6: Using the Mental Health First Aid Action Plan in a Crisis Scenario

• Segment 7: Self-Care for the Youth Mental Health First Aider

The YMHFA instructor-led course can be taught in a single 6.5-hour session, broken into two 

sessions delivered over 2 days, or four sessions delivered over 4 days in-person, virtually, or in a 

hybrid format.

In-Person

Registration is not required but suggested. Trainers can host the training and submit required 

documentation to the MHFA portal for certification after the training has been completed. 

Requires printing documents for pre-course work.

Virtual

The virtual YMHFA course is 2 hours for self-paced and 4.5 hours for instructor-led virtual. 

Registration is required prior to the course to complete the pre-course work required for online 

course training.

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From the National Council for Mental Wellbeing
www.samhsa.gov | 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727)

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Blended

The blended YMHFA course is 2 hours self-paced virtual and 4.5 hours instructor-led in-person. 

Registration is required prior to the course to complete pre-course work to be able to 

participate in in-person course training.

Materials

Manuals for each participant are required. Participant Processing Guides (PPG) are optional; 

however, PPGs enhance the learning experience for each participant as an additional resource. 

The manual’s cost estimate is $19.95. PPG’s cost estimate is $9.95. Printing and other materials 

needed are a projector, projector screen, speakers, markers, and flipchart paper. These supply 

costs may be covered as part of a TTA request.

Instructor Training Consideration

One to two trainers are needed to conduct the training for a certification credit with a 

maximum of 30 participants. An additional instructor is used as support. A minimum of five

participants are needed to fulfill course training requirements. 

Youth Mental Health First Aid Action Plan

The MHFA action plan is illustrated below.

How to Request YMHFA TTA

After a TTA request is received, Tribal TTA Center staff respond to set up an intake call. From 

there, Tribal TTA Center staff work with the community to best meet their needs. Communities 

can contact the Tribal TTA Center to submit TTA inquiries via:

https://www.samhsa.gov/tribal-ttac/contact-us

Phone: 1-800-953-1379

189 E. Nelson Avenue #249 Wasilla, AK 99654