Transformation

Mental Health First Aid featured in USA Today

Mental Health First Aid USA, a Missouri Mental Health Transformation initiative, was featured in the March
 11, 2012, issue of USA Today. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a 12-hour course designed to teach the general public how to help individuals who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. Missouri currently has more than 180 MHFA instructors in the state.

The USA Today article mentions a growth in the number of MHFA classes being taught in Arizona following the shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, the value of MHFA in reducing stigma experienced by persons with mental health disorders, and the five-step process that Mental Health First Aiders use in helping persons in crisis. The article is available online at http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2012-03-11/Classes-teach-first-aid-for-mental-health-crises/53489150/1.

State features Mental Health First Aid in new video

A new video on Missouri's state government web page provides an overview of Mental Health First Aid and its benefits for those who participate in the course. Using footage from actual Mental Health First Aid courses and featuring comments from individuals taking the 12-hour course as well as officials involved in coordinating the state's efforts to provide the courses, the video provides insight on the value of the information provided.

To view the video click below or go to www.mo.gov and view on the State of Missouri website.

 

Faith Leaders Embrace Mental Health Training

Washington, DC March 2, 2012 — Churches, synagogues, and other houses of worship are turning to an innovative training program to equip their congregations with the skills to recognize mental illness and respond to mental health emergencies. The program, Mental Health First Aid, helps people assess a mental health crisis, select interventions and provide initial help.

“The faith community has always felt a calling to help people, but has not always had the tools to assist people struggling with conditions like depression,” says Mike Johnson, a certified trainer and special projects director at Union Gospel Mission in Seattle. “Shortly after our first training, we realized that this was a resource the faith community had been missing.”

Marti Vogt, a certified trainer who works in the counseling center at Perimeter Church in Duluth, GA., says Mental Health First Aid gives compassionate people the practical skills to complement their spiritual gifts.

Mental Health First Aid expanding in Missouri; state to test a new course targeting adults who work with youth

Mental Health First Aid is taking shape in Missouri, five years after it was introduced in the state through the efforts of staff of the Mental Health Transformation grant, awarded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The five-year grant will wrap up by March, and sustaining Mental Health First Aid is a priority.

“Our main focus with Mental Health First Aid has been twofold,” said Benton Goon, co-chair of the state Transformation Working Group and Missouri’s representative on the national Mental Health First Aid USA planning team. “We wanted to train enough instructors so that the course is available in all areas of the state, and we wanted to initially target training to groups who are most receptive and where it could be most useful.”

Those objectives seem to have paid off. The state now has 183 certified instructors of Mental Health First Aid statewide, and – in addition to mental health agencies – higher education agencies and faith-based organizations have become partners in the effort to spread the word.

St. Francois County formation of Mental Health Board will help sustain Community of Hope efforts

With help and support of the St. Francois County Community Partnership and DMH staff, the St. Francois County Commission voted unanimously to officially form the St. Francois County Mental Health Board on August 30. The formation of the board will help solidify the Partnership's efforts to call attention to the mental health needs of the county's citizens.

The county commission currently is seeking candidates for the Mental Health Board of Directors.

"It's exciting to see that the needs and resource assessments and statistics that were gathered will now be put to good use," said Candy Zarcone, Special Programs Consultant for the St. Francois County Community Partnership. "I believe good changes are ahead!"

TWG releases White Paper on Evidence-Based Practices

The final report of the Evidence-Based Practice workgroup chartered by the Transformation Working Group is now available on line.The report, submitted to the TWG in the form of a white paper, provides a definition of Evidence Based Practice derived from scientific method, and a suggested  "ruler" for determining whether particular mental health services are evidence based.

The TWG encourages state departments that offer mental health services to use the report to strengthen their evidence-based principles, practices, and policies. For additional information on the workgroup's objectives and activities, go to http://missouridmh.typepad.com/transformation/evidence-based-practices-group.html.

National Council Awards Mental Health First Aid USA Challenge Grants

Washington, DC, Sept. 15, 2011 — The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (National Council) announced today it is awarding community dissemination grants to 18 organizations to support Mental Health First Aid programs nationwide.

Introduced in the U.S. in 2008, Mental Health First Aid teaches people how to help someone with the signs and symptoms of mental illness or in a mental health crisis. To date, nearly 30,000 people have been trained through a network of 1,300 certified instructors across the country.

“These grants will help instructors expand Mental Health First Aid offerings in communities across the country,” said Linda Rosenberg, the National Council’s President and CEO. “This simple yet powerful program holds the key to combating stigma, increasing health literacy and building a community’s capacity to reach out to struggling neighbors and families.”

RESPECT speakers participate in college course videoconference

It's one thing to share your personal life story in front of a group of people. But to share with people in remote locations on a six-site teleclass is another. Two RESPECT speakers from northwest Missouri -- one a veteran speaker and one on his first speaking engagement -- did just that and were cool, calm, and collected throughout the process.

The outing started out normally. The two speakers -- Mark and Steve -- went to speak at a Social Work class at Missouri Western State University. But when they arrived, they discovered the DSM Psychopathology class was to be video-conferenced to six sites: Kennett, Cape Girardeau, Kirksville, Warrensburg, Blue Springs, and Columbia, with 42 students in attendance statewide and a local instructor.

"They did a wonderful job!," said Scott Clark, staff development officer at Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center (NMPRC) in St. Joseph, where the two speakers are based. "We knew Mark would handle himself well . . . and did. He attached the lapel mic and said 'test, test' a couple of times and launched into his talk. Stacy (Downey) and I cannot say enough about Steve's performance. This was his first time out. His presentation went really well."

Colleges Embrace Mental Health Training

Washington, Aug. 25—An innovative mental health program is helping stem the rising tide of mental health issues among students at colleges and universities in the U.S. With a recent survey finding the emotional health of incoming freshmen at a record low, colleges are offering Mental Health First Aid to teach students, staff and faculty how to help someone with the signs and symptoms of mental illness or in a mental health crisis.

“It’s well documented that over the past 10 to 15 years, the number and severity of mental health issues on campuses has increased,” says Kim Leisey, PhD, associate vice president for student affairs at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), one of 10 colleges in Maryland that offers the program. “Given that most counseling centers are not staffed to do a lot of outreach, Mental Health First Aid is playing an increasingly larger role to help manage anxiety about mental health issues on campuses.”

 
The evidence-based training uses role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to assess a mental health crisis, select interventions, and provide initial help. The training also addresses the risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses like anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorders.
 

Missouri trains more Mental Health First Aid instructors

Missouri added to its number of Mental Health First Aid instructors in July and August, as a total 35 students were certified as instructors during the two five-day training sessions, held in Jefferson City. The trainings, which added 32 Missouri instructors and three from Chicago, brings Missouri's total to 155.

Trainers Christy Hutton (bottom left) and Ginny Weil (bottom right) welcomed the class of 20 newly graduated Mental Health First Aid instructors in July.

 

Trainers Jermine Alberty (bottom left) and Sharon Thomas-Parks (bottom right) trained 18 new Mental Health First Aid instructors in August.