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New training comes to Four Corners
If you go
Mental Health First Aid Training, Nov. 12-13, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., La Plata Fairgrounds, Florida Room. Training provided is free, $25 fee for the course manual. To reserve a spot, call Mark White, course coordinator, at 759-2615.
Debbie was involved in a bitter custody battle for her two daughters.
She struggled to get out of bed each day, arriving at work looking disheveled and listless. Her job performance dramatically declined, and she frequently cried.
Co-workers knew something was terribly wrong; however, they didn’t know how to help.
They were shocked and dismayed when she tried to kill herself one night, and was taken to the local emergency room.
Debbie’s co-workers had never heard of Mental Health First Aid.
Mental Health First Aid is a 12-hour course teaching skills to provide initial help to a person experiencing problems such as depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis and substance-abuse disorders. The course gives anyone the skills to help someone developing a mental-health problem or in a mental-health crisis.
If Debbie’s co-workers had been trained in such aid, her suicide attempt may have been prevented.
Mental-health crises, such as suicide and self-harming actions, may be avoided through early intervention, and anyone can take action to reduce the harm that may result.
Initially sponsored by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, Southwest Colorado Mental Health Center, has brought this valuable course to the Four Corners.
Mental-Health First Aiders learn to apply a single strategy in engaging with someone who may be anxious or suicidal, supporting a person experiencing psychosis or helping an individual who has overdosed.
Learning risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses, engaging in experiential activities that build understanding of the impact of the illness and receiving information about evidence-based treatment and support are the backbone of the course.
“Just as giving CPR can save lives in medical emergencies, giving mental-health first aid can do the same in a mental-health or substance-abuse crisis,” said program coordinator Mark White. “Teaching practical, research-supported methods of intervention, and empowering individuals to use them, are key parts of this program.”
Participants receive a certificate at the completion of the course, and response has been positive about the knowledge and skills acquired.
“This course was a great first exposure to mental health issues, and greatly reduces stigma,” said one participant.
Another said, “The course gave tools for use with a wide variety of people in a variety of situations. It encouraged compassion.”
MHFA instructors already have certified 106 people, including health-care professionals, law-enforcement officers, shelter volunteers, social-services staff, community members and school personnel at trainings held in Cortez, Pagosa Springs and Farmington.
The first Durango training is scheduled for November.
For more information, call Mark White, course coordinator, Southwest Colorado Mental Health Center, at 759-2615.
Linda Lute, LAC, MAC is the Executive Vice President of Clinical Services for Southwest Colorado Mental Health Center.
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