ABSTRACT

This chapter describes the development of a workplace mental health literacy intervention for use in the policing sector. It provides the details of an integrated workplace mental health promotion programme for an Australian policing organisation. The intervention is currently being used in a cluster randomised-controlled trial in Victoria Police. MHFA seeks to improve mental health literacy by developing knowledge and skills on how to recognise common mental disorders and provide First Aid' support until professional help can be obtained, increasing understanding about the causes of mental disorders. The workplace mental health literacy as the knowledge, beliefs, and skills that aid in the prevention of mental illness in the workplace, and the recognition, treatment, rehabilitation, and return to work of working people affected by mental illness. Most police members learned skills associated with helping people with mental health problems through life experience, rather than through formal training.