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Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) prepares individuals and communities to respond appropriately and safely to persons with mental health challenges and or disorders, particularly those with serious mental illness (SMI) and/or serious emotional disturbances (SED).
As a result of MHAT, individuals receive the knowledge, skills, confidence, and resources to engage with someone experiencing mental health and/or substance use challenges. Individuals trained might use these skills and resources to help others access needed mental health care or other services from within their own families, places of employment, communities, or places of worship.
To meet the unique needs of their communities, MHAT-awarded grantees implement various evidence-based/ evidence-informed curricula of their choice to train the mental health and related workforce, school/higher education systems, first responders, law enforcement, diverse human service organizations, and others who interface with youth and adults at risk for mental health and/or substance use challenges.
Nancy Kelly, M.S. Ed, Acting Chief, Mental Health Promotion Branch, nancy.kelly@samhsa.hhs.gov
