An Australian program teaching 'mental health first aid' in high schools has been exported to the United States with the backing of Lady Gaga.

This month, the singer's Born This Way foundation released a Youtube video filmed filmed at one of her Las Vegas residency shows. In it, she promotes a new mental health program for young people.

"We are in eight different schools but we're going to add 20 more very soon," she says in the video.

"For me, quite frankly, my dream is that this happens in every school."

Then she brings onstage 16 students who have just completed the program: "With teen Mental Health First Aid, we like to say, it's okay to not be okay,"

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The program she's talking about is Australian, and its designers have told Hack they hope the star's backing will turbo-charge its popularity.

"Suicide is the most common cause of death in young people," one of the designers, Dr Claire Kelly, told Hack.

"We are in a crisis. We are in a crisis in mental health"

"This is a program that can save lives."

Right from the beginning she promised a lot of resources and her name really was the biggest of those resources.

What is the course?

Teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA), launched in Australia 2014, has been taught to about 60,000 high school-age students

Over three hour-long sessions it covers problems such as anxiety and depression and eating disorders, and crisis situations like suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

"It helps kids identify when a friend might be in trouble and how to have a supportive conversation," Dr Kelly told Hack.

Instead of saying 'cheer up' they learn to say something like, 'that sounds horrible. How long has it been going on for?'

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Studies show it works. Research through the University of Melbourne has found high school students who go through the course are better able to recognise an anxiety disorder, and significantly more confident in helping a friend with a mental health problem.

Dr Laura Hart, a research follow at the Centre for Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, and a co-designer of the tMHFA program, told Hack it's safe and effective.

"Students who receive teen mental health first aid are nine times more likely to ask a friend about suicidal thoughts in a supportive way," she said.

"That's a strategy we know from research is highly likely to prevent suicide."

One in seven young people experience a mental health condition in any given year, and about one in 40 attempt suicide.

Dr Kelly says the program is saving lives that would have been lost to suicide, but there are still many out there who are not receiving enough support.

"We know already kids are supporting each other at times when they're having thoughts of suicide and other difficulties," she told Hack.

"And we know they're doing that at a very high level but probably not very effectively."

US course includes information on opioids, mass shootings

The Australian resources had to be tweaked a little for US audiences, which have a different healthcare system and some unique problems.

Dr Hart told Hack the US materials have more information on dealing with opioids and mass shootings.

"They needed to add in more information on substance misuse particularly because of the opioid epidemic in the US," Dr Hart said.

They also needed to add more information about mass trauma events like a school shooting.

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According to Dr Kelly, the US offshoot of Mental Health First Aid approached Lady Gaga's Born This Way foundation in late 2017. Gaga was keen.

"Rumours came through the mill that Lady Gaga was looking for something to support around mental health and to make a genuine difference."

"They reached out and she said yes that that was something I want to do."

"We just thought this is so wonderful.

"She's a leader globally and we need community leaders and peer-group leaders and sports people and musicians to all say it's okay to not be okay.

"We want to break those sorts of taboos once and for all."