ALGEE is a five-step action plan used in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) to help someone who is developing a mental health or substance use challenge, or who is experiencing a mental health crisis. Each letter stands for one step: Assess for risk of suicide or harm, Listen nonjudgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage appropriate professional help, and Encourage self-help and other support strategies. Think of it as the mental health equivalent of learning CPR: a structured way for everyday people to offer initial support until professional help arrives or the crisis resolves.
The MHFA program that teaches ALGEE has been licensed and adapted in more than 25 countries. Randomized controlled trials show that people who complete the training come away with greater mental health knowledge, more confidence helping others, and less stigma toward mental illness, with those gains holding up over time.
A: Assess for Risk of Suicide or Harm
The first step is figuring out whether the person is in immediate danger. That means looking for warning signs of suicide, self-harm, or harm to others. You’re not making a clinical diagnosis. You’re paying attention to what you can see and hear: Has the person talked about wanting to die or feeling like a burden? Are they withdrawing from people they usually spend time with? Have they started giving away possessions or saying goodbye in unusual ways? Are they using substances more heavily than before?
If you believe someone is at risk, the priority shifts from a casual check-in to crisis support. That could mean staying with the person, helping them contact a crisis line, or calling emergency services. The point of assessing first is to match your response to the level of urgency.
L: Listen Nonjudgmentally
Once you’ve gauged the situation, the most important thing you can do is listen. Nonjudgmental listening means respecting the person’s feelings, values, and experiences as valid, even if they differ from your own or you disagree with them. It sounds simple, but most people default to offering advice, minimizing feelings (“It’s not that bad”), or steering the conversation toward solutions before the other person has finished talking.
A few concrete techniques help. Use minimal prompts like “I see” or “go on” to show you’re following along without interrupting. Pay attention to tone of voice and nonverbal cues. Ask open-ended questions rather than yes-or-no ones. On the body language side, sit down rather than standing over the person. Position yourself alongside them and angled slightly toward them rather than directly across. Maintain comfortable eye contact and keep an open posture, meaning uncrossed arms and a relaxed stance. These small adjustments signal that you genuinely care and aren’t just going through the motions.
Before you even start the conversation, it helps to check your own state of mind. If you’re feeling anxious, rushed, or distracted, take a moment to settle yourself so you can show up calm and open.
G: Give Reassurance and Information
After the person has shared what they’re going through, the next step is to offer hope and useful facts. This doesn’t mean cheerfully telling someone “everything will be fine.” It means acknowledging what they’ve told you and gently providing information that might help them feel less alone or less confused about what they’re experiencing.
A good way to start is with an observation: “I noticed that you’ve seemed really overwhelmed lately.” From there, you can share basic, factual information. For example, if someone describes symptoms of anxiety, you might let them know that anxiety is one of the most common mental health challenges and that effective treatments exist. Try to be accepting of what they say, even if you don’t agree with all of it. Your role is not to diagnose or fix the problem. It’s to provide support and information that helps them take the next step when they’re ready.
E: Encourage Professional Help
Many people dealing with mental health challenges don’t seek professional help, sometimes because they don’t know what’s available, sometimes because stigma or fear gets in the way. This step is about gently encouraging them to connect with someone trained to help.
Professional help can take many forms depending on the situation: a therapist or counselor, a primary care doctor, a psychiatrist, a substance use treatment program, or a crisis hotline. You don’t need to know which option is “right.” What matters is planting the idea that professional support exists and that reaching out is a sign of strength, not weakness. If the person seems open to it, you can offer to help them look up local resources, make a phone call together, or even accompany them to an appointment. The key word in this step is “encourage,” not “insist.” Pushing too hard can backfire and make the person shut down.
E: Encourage Self-Help and Other Support
The final step recognizes that professional treatment is only one piece of recovery. Day-to-day habits and social connections play a huge role in mental health. Self-help strategies include things like regular physical activity, maintaining a sleep routine, practicing relaxation techniques, journaling, and reducing alcohol or drug use. Support strategies extend outward: reconnecting with friends or family, joining a peer support group, participating in community activities, or leaning on faith-based organizations.
Your job here is to help the person think about what has helped them cope in the past and what new strategies might be worth trying. Some people already know what works for them but have stopped doing it. A gentle reminder that those tools are still available can be powerful.
How the Steps Work Together
Although ALGEE is presented as a sequence, the steps don’t always unfold in strict order. You might find yourself looping back to listening after you’ve started giving reassurance, or you might need to reassess risk partway through a conversation. The acronym is a memory tool, not a rigid checklist. Its real value is giving you a framework so that in a stressful moment, you have a clear idea of what to do instead of freezing or saying the wrong thing.
The plan also applies across a wide range of situations. It works whether someone is in acute crisis, like expressing suicidal thoughts, or in a slower-building struggle, like a coworker who has been increasingly withdrawn and irritable over several weeks. In non-crisis situations, the emphasis naturally shifts toward listening, reassurance, and encouragement rather than immediate risk assessment.
Who Uses ALGEE
ALGEE is taught through the official Mental Health First Aid training course, which is typically an eight-hour program (offered in person or as a blended online and in-person format). It’s designed for anyone, not just healthcare professionals. Workplaces, schools, faith communities, and first responder organizations commonly send staff through the training. The goal is the same as physical first aid: put more people in a position to recognize a problem early and respond helpfully before a professional takes over.
Research backs up the approach. A randomized controlled trial among university students found that those who completed the training showed significantly increased mental health knowledge and confidence in helping others, along with reduced stigma toward mental illness. Those improvements persisted at follow-up, suggesting the training creates lasting change in how people think about and respond to mental health challenges around them.