1. For more information and to register: www.tpot.net.au
Training for Parents of Teenagers (TPOT) Research Study
FREE training for parents to help the mental and physical health of teenagers
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – ACROSS AUSTRALIA!
Parents with teenagers aged between 12-15 years
within Australia (one parent and one teenager per
family). This includes Educators or Staff who are
parents.
Courses offered:
• 14-hour Youth Mental Health First Aid which
teaches adults the skills to recognise the early signs of
mental illness, identify potential mental health-related
crises, and assist teenagers to get professional help.
• 15-hour (HLTAID003) Australian Red Cross
Provide First Aid which teaches the skills to sustain
life, reduce pain and minimise the consequences of
injury and illness until professional help arrives.
To view the course timetable
• Go to www.tpot.net.au and click on
‘Browse Courses’
• Select your STATE from the dropdown
box to see if courses are being held in
your location (major cities in Australia)
Courses are added weekly, so if you don’t see
one in your area, please revisit the trial website
to see if they have been recently uploaded!
Register at www.tpot.net.au
by clicking on ‘Sign Up’
During registration, parents will need to select two course
dates but a computer will randomly place them into ONE
of their chosen courses.
This study has received ethics approval from The University of Melbourne’s Behavioural and Social Sciences Human Ethics Sub-Committee
ID: 1135679, The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) ID: 2012_001480 and the Catholic Education Office
of Melbourne (CEOM) ID: 1877.
Who can take part?
What are the aims?
The project aims to teach parents the skills to
recognize and respond to mental health problems in
teenagers as well as first aid injuries and to evaluate
the training offered.
We are interested to see if the skills taught to parents
are used on teenagers and whether this benefits a
teenager’s health in the longer term.
What’s in it for me?
A $50 Coles/Myer Gift Card after course
attendance! This is to acknowledge parents’
time commitment (2 days) and travel
expenses.
Parents receive the training course, materials
and Certificate of completion for FREE.
Who is running the project?
The Centre for Mental Health at The University of
Melbourne.
Note: To be eligible, you must not have undertaken
training in the previous three years in Mental Health First
Aid (MHFA), Youth MHFA or physical First Aid.
Questions?
Please contact Julie Fischer, TPOT Trial Manager,
Centre for Mental Health, The University of
Melbourne, email: jfischer@unimelb.edu.au, tel: 9035
6770 or mobile: 0401 772 648.
Telephone interview prior to training
Before parents can attend their allocated training
course, they and their teenager will be required to
undertake an individual 20 to 30 minute telephone
survey, which will ask about knowledge and attitudes
about health problems.

2. For more information and to register: www.tpot.net.au
Call for Volunteers – TPOT Research Study
Who can take part?
1 parent and 1 teenager aged 12-15 per family (register in pairs).
Registration, phone survey and course attendance
1. Go to the trial website at www.tpot.net.au
Read the Participant Information Sheet for study overview – any questions, please contact Julie Fischer on tel:
03 90356770, mobile: 0401 772 648 or email: jfischer@unimelb.edu.au.
2. Click on Sign Up. You will be prompted to complete an online form:
• consent to take part
• demographics of parent and teenager
• when is it best to call for a 20 min phone interview? (book a time that suits you and your teen)
3. At the end of registration, you’ll be prompted to select 2 course dates.
4. An email will be sent to you listing both of the course dates you have chosen, along with a copy of the
Participant Information Sheet for reference.
5. We relay your phone details to our professional interviewers at the Social Research Centre, who will contact
both the parent and teenager for the phone interview, which asks about knowledge and attitudes about teenage
mental and physical health.
6. At the end of the parent’s phone interview, they are advised as to which ONE of the two courses they selected,
they have been randomly assigned to, by computer.
Note: Teenagers do not attend the training as it is aimed at parents or adults who work with or look after
teenagers.
7. After the phone interviews, Julie will contact the parent to confirm course date and venue.
8. After attending the course, parents are sent at $50 Coles/Myer Gift Card to say thank-you for their time
commitment (2-days) and to cover out of pocket travel expenses.
9. The Social Research Centre will contact both the parent and teenager again annually for a few years. This helps
us see whether the skills taught to the parent were used to help a teenager and whether this has a longer-term
health benefit over the adolescent period. It helps researchers evaluate the training.
The project is likely to empower parents to better deal with a teenager’s emerging mental health problem or a
physical injury needing assistance.
Courses offered
14-hour (2 days) Youth Mental Health First Aid course:
Teaches adults how to assist adolescents who are developing a mental health problem, (such as depression, anxiety,
psychosis, eating disorders or substance misuse) or in a mental health crisis (such as suicidal thoughts and
behaviours, non-suicidal self-injury, panic attacks, traumatic events, acute effects of drug or alcohol use and severe
psychotic states).
OR
15-hour (2 days) Provide First Aid course:
Teaches the skills to sustain life, reduce pain and minimise the consequences of injury and illness until professional
help arrives. It covers: legal issues, debriefing/welfare, Basic Life Support (DRSABCD), CPR and AED, allergic reaction/
anaphylaxis, shock management, airway management/choking, asthma, cardiac emergencies, bleeding and wound
care, burns and scalds, abdominal injuries, dehydration & extremes of heat and cold, convulsions/seizures,
musculoskeletal injuries, poisons, bites and stings.