WHEN: Saturday, August 22nd 2020
WHERE: Online
* This training is currently full, but if you are interested in finding out when our next Mental Health First Aid training will be, please email NRCinstitute@thechicagoschool.edu
Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that teaches you how to help someone who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge. The training helps you identify, understand and respond to signs of addictions and mental illnesses. Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In the Mental Health First Aid course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help.
Topics Covered:
- Depression and mood disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- Trauma
- Psychosis
- Substance Use Disorders
- Mental Health First Aid teaches about recovery and resiliency – the belief that individuals experiencing these challenges can and do get better, and use their strengths to stay well.
Interventions Learned:
When you take a course, you learn how to apply the Mental Health First Aid action plan in a variety of situations, including when someone is experiencing:
- Panic attacks
- Suicidal thoughts or behaviors
- Nonsuicidal self-injury
- Acute psychosis (e.g., hallucinations or delusions)
- Overdose or withdrawal from alcohol or drug use
- Reaction to a traumatic event
- The opportunity to practice — through role plays, scenarios, and activities — makes it easier to apply these skills in a real-life situation.
Learning Objectives:
- Upon completing the Mental Health First Aid training, participants will be able to:
- Identify the potential risk factors and warning signs for a range of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety/trauma, psychosis, and psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, and self-injury.
- Identify a 5-step action plan to help an individual in crisis connect with appropriate professional help.
- Interpret the prevalence of various mental health disorders in the U.S. and the need for reduced negative attitudes in their communities.
- Apply knowledge of the appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help resources available to help someone with a mental health problem treat and manage the problem, as well as achieve recovery.
