Mental Health First Aid
Most of us would know how to help if we saw someone having a heart attack—we’d start CPR, or at the very least, call 9-1-1. But too few of us would know how to respond if we saw someone having a panic attack or if we were concerned that a friend or co-worker might be showing signs of alcoholism.
Mental Health First Aid Matters
Mental Health First Aid takes the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems by improving understanding and teaching how to safely and responsibly identify and address a potential mental illness or substance use disorder.
Who Are Mental Health First Aiders?
Mental Health First Aiders are…. Teachers, coaches, first responders and veterans. They’re neighbors, parents, friends and family. They’re people in recovery, and those supporting a family member. They’re First Ladies and Mayors. Mental Health First Aiders are anyone who wants to make their community healthier, happier and safer for all.
We offer two, distinct Mental Health First Aid programs:
Mental Health First Aid
An 8-hour interactive training course for adults. This course:
- Presents an overview of mental health illness and substance use disorders
- Introduces the risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems
- Builds understanding of the impact of mental health illnesses
- Teaches a five-step action plan to help an individual in crisis
- Participants who successfully complete this 8-hour program will become a certified “Mental Health First Aider.”
Youth Mental Health First Aid
An 8-hour training course for adults who work with youth. The course:
- Presents the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in adolescents
- Builds an understanding of the importance of early intervention
- Teaches adults how to help a youth in crisis or identify if a youth is experiencing a mental health challenge
- Teaches a five-step action plan to assist an adolescent in crisis or an adolescent that is experiencing the signs and symptoms of mental illness
- Participants who successfully complete the 8-hour training will become a certified “Youth Mental Health First Aider”.
- *Educators should talk with their school administrators about how Youth Mental Health First Aid can qualify for continuing education credits.
- For more information or to schedule this training for your organization please call 317-272-0027 or email Deana at info@mhahc.org.
Suicide Prevention Training
Question Persuade Refer
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer, three steps anyone can learn to help prevent suicide. Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives.
The QPR mission is to save lives and reduce suicidal behaviors by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. We believe that quality education empowers all people, regardless of their background, to make a positive difference in the life of someone they know.
According to the Surgeon General’s National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (2001), a gatekeeper is someone in a position a recognize a crisis and the warning signs that someone may be contemplating suicide. Gatekeepers include parents, friends, neighbors, teachers, ministers, doctors, nurses, office supervisors, squad leaders, foremen, police officers, advisors, caseworkers, firefighters, and many others who are strategically positioned to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide.
As a QPR-trained Gatekeeper you will learn to:
- Recognize the warning signs of suicide
- Know how to offer hope
- Know how to get help and save a life
For information, to register for a training, or to schedule this training for your organization please call 317-272-0027 or email Deana at info@mhahc.org
ASIST
ASIST is a two-day, two-trainer, workshop designed for members of all caregiving groups. Family, friends, and other community members may be the first to talk with a person at risk but have little or no training. ASIST can also provide those in formal helping roles with professional development to ensure that they are prepared to provide suicide first aid help as part of the care they provide.
The emphasis is on teaching suicide first-aid to help a person at risk stay safe and seek further help as needed. Participants learn to use a suicide intervention model to identify persons with thoughts of suicide, seek a shared understanding of reasons for dying and living, develop a safe plan based upon a review of risk, be prepared to do follow-up, and become involved in suicide-safer community networks. The learning process is based on adult learning principles and highly participatory. Graduated skills development occurs through mini-lectures, facilitated discussions, group simulations, and role plays.
To learn more or to get information on local, upcoming ASIST trainings please email us at info@mhahc.org