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Mental Health First Aid training is part of a National Initiative to Increase Mental Health Literacy.
In response to our nation’s mental health crisis, ETSU’s Office of Professional Development will bring Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to the ETSU Innovation Lab on February 27. This groundbreaking skills-based course teaches people how to identify, understand and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health or substance use challenges. Similar to physical First Aid and CPR, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a crisis until professional assistance is obtained or the crisis is resolved.
One in five Americans has experienced a mental health challenge, but many are reluctant to seek help or don’t know where to turn for care. Unlike physical conditions, symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges can be difficult to see. Friends and family members may find it hard to know when and how to step in. As a result, those in need of mental health services often do not receive care until it is too late.
Mental Health First Aiders learn a 5-step Action Plan that guides them through the process of reaching out and offering appropriate support.
“It’s never been more important for our communities to talk about mental health and substance use,” says Chuck Ingoglia, president and CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, which helped bring Mental Health First Aid to the U.S. in 2008. “Mental Health First Aid is breaking down barriers and stigma so that together we can learn how to better support one another, Without mental health, there is no health.”
Since its introduction, Mental Health First Aid has become a full-blown movement! More than 3 million people in the United States are trained by thousands of certified instructors, and that number is growing every day.
“I’m looking forward to community conversations that work toward erasing the stigma that surrounds mental health,” says instructor Ruth Taylor Read. “It is important in every community that mental health has the same quality of support that we see in physical health.”
For more information or to participate on these Mental Health First Aid trainings, visit https://etsuaw.etsu.edu/wconnect/CourseStatus.awp?&course=233-9010D-6&Publish=ANYWAY or call 423-439-8084.