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
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