M E N T A L    H E A L T H    F I R S T    A I D
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Click here to find out if Mental Health First Aid is right for you.                Upcoming Trainings

 

As you know, mental health problems – such as depression, anxiety, impulse control and misuse of alcohol and other drugs – are shockingly common in the US.  In fact, more than 1 in 4 American adults will have a mental health problem in a year.  The National Council on Community Behavioral Healthcare has begun working with communities throughout the nation, including LifeWays, to implement Mental Health First Aid to arm the public with skills to help individuals who are developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.   

The goal of Mental Health First Aid is to increase mental health literacy. Like CPR training helps a non-medical professional assist an individual following a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid training helps an individual who doesn’t have clinical training assist someone experiencing a mental health crisis. In both situations, the goal is to help support an individual until appropriate professional help arrives, with the added underlying intention to promote health literacy. 

Mental Health First Aiders learn to apply a single strategy in helping someone through a panic attack, engaging with someone who may be suicidal, supporting a person experiencing psychosis and helping an individual who has overdosed. In practicing the intervention strategy, Mental Health First Aiders learn the risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses such as anxiety, depression, psychosis and addiction; engage in experiential activities that build understanding of the impact of illness; and learn information about evidence-based treatment and support - ultimately building participants' mental health 'literacy'.

The Mental Health First Aid program is an interactive session which runs 12 hours. It can be conducted as one two-day seminar, two one day events spaced over a short period of time or as four 3-hour sessions. Mental Health First Aid certification must be renewed every three years, and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact and overviews common treatments.

Specifically, participants learn:

  • The potential risk factors and warning signs for a range of mental health problems, including: depression, anxiety/trauma, psychosis and psychotic disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, and self-injury
  • An understanding of the prevalence of various mental health disorders in the U.S. and the need for reduced stigma in their communities
  • A 5-step action plan encompassing the skills, resources and knowledge to assess the situation, to select and implement appropriate interventions, and to help the individual in crisis connect with appropriate professional care 
  • The evidence-based professional, peer, social, and self-help resources available to help someone with a mental health problem.
Who should become a Mental Health First Aider?
Specific audiences for each training vary, but include key professions, such as law enforcement and other first responders, nursing home staff, and school administration. Other participating entities include faith communities, employers and chambers of commerce, state policymakers, mental health advocacy organizations and families and the general public. Mental Health First Aid is approved for 12 General Recertification Credit Hours by the Society of Human Resource Management's HR Certification Institute. These hours relate to the Professional in Human Resources (PHR), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) certifications. Sorry, no CEUs are available for Social Workers.
 
Mental Health First Aid in your Community
MHFA-USA envisions that Mental Health First Aid will become as common as CPR and First Aid training during the next decade. MHFA-USA certifies community providers to implement Mental Health First Aid in communities throughout the United Sates. Each Mental Health First Aid site develops individualized plans to reach their communities, but all deliver the core 12-hour program and each participating site undergoes tight credentialing to guarantee fidelity to the original, tested model, while also maintaining the flexibility necessary to reach its unique citizens’ needs and demographics.
 
To find a mental health first aid training provider near you, click here for an interactive, searchable map of all of the active training locations.

Upcoming Training Dates

Thursday, September 30, 9am-4pm & Friday, October 1, 9am-4pm LifeWays Pine Room (Jackson, MI) $30/participant

Mental Health First Aid is a 12-hour training certification course, delivered by certified instructors over two days. Attendance is required during both days to receive certification. Space is limited to the first 25 registered participants. A comprehensive 136-page participant manuals will be provided. In addition to several breaks, a 45-minute lunch break (on your own) will be held at around noon each day.

If you would like to learn more about Mental Health First Aid, click here. To register online, click here. Or, call LifeWays Customer Services at 517.780.3332 to register via phone. Payment is expected upon registration and can be mailed to LifeWays, 1200 N. West Ave., Jackson, MI 49202. If you cannot attend, kindly give a 48 hour notice or you will be billed as if you attended.
 
 
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For more information on recent LifeWays news and/or current events, please contact Heather Bridgewater, LifeWays' Public Relations and Marketing Manager.