Mental Health First Aid Outreach

The DoraCare Mental Health First Aid School Outreach programme delivers structured mental health awareness, early-intervention training, and psychosocial support to students within school communities. The central aim is to equip young people with the knowledge and skills to recognise mental health challenges, provide basic first-line support to peers, and seek appropriate help when necessary. Core outreach modules include: Understanding Mental Health; Recognising Signs of Emotional Distress; Mental Health First Aid Basics; Healthy Coping and Help-Seeking Behaviours. Sessions are delivered through interactive, age-appropriate workshops facilitated by trained personnel. Pre- and post-assessment tools are used to evaluate impact, with follow-up engagement and referrals provided where needed.

Creativity through suggesting improvements is embedded across all DoraCare Mental Health First Aid resources, including presentation slides, mental health first aid handbook and assessment tools, and are consistently referenced throughout programme delivery. At the start of each outreach, learners fill in a pre-assessment form to track the level of knowledge about creativity. Participants identify focus areas and apply these skills throughout the sessions by proposing practical improvements to mental health support within their school environment. The post assessment is repeated at programme completion.