Post by Mental Health + Exercise Research Group

After 13+ years of delivering Youth Mental Health First Aid (Mental Health First Aid International) the case for embedding it exercise and allied health profession has only grown stronger. Exercise and health professionals see young people regularly, in a low-pressure setting, over weeks and months. That builds the kind of trust that often outpaces what a young person has with their GP, or school based settings. Conversations and disclosures can happen in the warm-up, during sessions or in passing conversations in the gym or club rooms. All providing opportunities to have a meangingful and supportive conversations. National data backs the urgency and reaffirms the likelihood that if you are working with young people, you are already working with people experience mental health challenges. ✴️ Nearly 2 in 5 young Australians aged 16 to 24 experienced a mental disorder in the past 12 months (ABS, 2020-22), and 50% of mental health conditions emerge by age 14. This carousel is a primer on what YMHFA is, why it belongs in every exercise professional's toolkit, and four things you can action this week. A few key points the slides unpack: → You are often the first call, whether you trained for it or not → ALGEE gives you a framework for the moments most practitioners freeze in → Exercise is not adjacent to mental health care, it is part of the treatment → Asking the question does not plant the idea If you work with young people in exercise, sport, allied health or community settings, save this for your next team conversation or share it with a colleague who would benefit. And if you are a parent, carer or significant person in a young person's life ... enrol in a MHFA course ASAP! Find accredited courses at mhfa.com.au, or get in touch with our community partner Thriving in Motion for training tailored to exercise and allied health. #YouthMentalHealth #MentalHealthFirstAid #ExercisePhysiology #AlliedHealth #YMHFA #AustralianHealth #Parents #Mentalhealth