Mental Health Facilitator Program Summary2

BackgroundThe National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc.

and Affiliates (NBCC) created the Mental Health

Facilitator (MHF) program through the International

Capacity Building Department of its Foundation and

Professional Services division. The International

Capacity Building Department, formerly NBCC

International, was founded in 2003 to promote

counseling professionalization and programs that

increase mental health service access and excellence

around the globe. A major program, the MHF, was

developed to support this mission.

At an international conference in 2003, Dr. Benedetto

Saraceno, then director of the Department of Mental

Health and Substance Abuse for the World Health

Organization (WHO), challenged counselors to focus

their efforts on serving the more than 450 million

people worldwide with little or no access to mental

health services. In response to and collaboration with

WHO, NBCC began developing a framework for what

is now the MHF program.

More than 450 million people worldwide have little to no access to mental health services.

NBCC responded to this issue.

In 2005, it began creating the Mental Health Facilitator program.

Mental Health Facilitator Program Summary3

What Is the Mental Health Facilitator Program?Mental health care is one of the least addressed aspects of overall

health care worldwide. Mental health care providers, of which there are

already an insufficient number, are overburdened. Serious mental health

issues present an enormous financial and social burden, especially in

developing countries.

The MHF program was conceived to address all of these issues while

also providing what is most needed––increased service capacity.

The MHF is a training program designed to provide foundational

mental health skills and education to paraprofessionals, laypeople,

and professionals from outside of mental health. It is not designed

to create a separate profession. Rather, the MHF program increases

service capacity by training individuals who come into contact with

others in the course of their daily jobs or functions to identify, refer, and,

in some cases, work with and support those with mental health needs.

Mental Health Facilitator Program Summary4

MHF CurriculaAcross the four curricula, all include training on helping skills, diversity, violence and trauma, suicide prevention, and referral

and consultation skills. Upon completing the training, participants receive a certificate of completion and are included in the

international MHF registry.

There are currently four curricula: • Mental Health Facilitator: curriculum designed for use in the general population

• MHF-ASAP!: abridged curriculum for the general population

• MHF-Educator’s Edition: curriculum designated for the unique needs of educators and school staff

• MHF-Express Educator’s Edition: condensed curriculum for educators and school staff

ASAP!ASAP!TM

EDUCATOR’S EDITIONTM

TMEDUCATOR’S EDITIONExpress

Mental Health Facilitator Program Summary5

The MHF ProcessThe MHF program is facilitated through a three-tiered,

train-the-trainer process. The program is offered

through formal partnerships to facilitate trainings

within local communities.

Partnerships include but are not limited to:• individuals,

• educational institutions

• government agencies, or

• private enterprises.

NBCC approved master trainers (Tier 3) train local trainers (Tier 2) who train MHFs (Tier 1).

Train-the-Trainer MHF Process

Mental Health Facilitator Program Summary6

MHF Training Locations

*Updated annually

*Updated annually

Mental Health Facilitator Program Summary7

Serving International AudiencesAs the MHF program is meant to serve across

international audiences, the curriculum content

can be contextualized and translated to fit the local

cultural context.

• Albanian

• Arabic

• Bahasa Malaysia

• Chinese

• Dzongkha (the language of Bhutan)

• German

• Greek

• Haitian Creole

• Japanese

• Portuguese

• Romanian

• Spanish

• Swahili

• Vietnamese

The MHF curriculum has been translated into:

*Updated annually

Mental Health Facilitator Program Summary8

• WHO: Mental Health

WHO.INT/Mental_Health/EN

• WHO: Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2020

http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA66/A66_R8-en.pdf

• International Capacity Building Website

NBCCF.org/Programs/International

• MHF Website

MentalHealthFacilitator.org

References