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.

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.”

Remembering 9/11, renewing the commitment to trauma-informed care

 
Ten years ago, the fabric of our country was incontrovertibly changed with the tragic events of 9/11. The staff, board, and members of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare remember the lives that were lost and honor those who remain. We also honor the brave men and women who have fought and continue to fight to keep our country strong, safe, and free.

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 drives home the pervasive and debilitating impact of trauma. Anniversaries of disasters and traumatic events can be “healing” or they can be “triggers,” reminders of the reactions one had to the original event. Even ten years later, one can re-experience what it was like to flee the World Trade Center or the Pentagon, or — in Shanksville, Pennsylvania — to smell, taste, and see the smoke and debris. The closer one was to the epicenter of the tragic event, the more serious the impact.

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.

Mental Health First Aid featured at national summit

Missouri's Mental Health First Aid initiative shared the spotlight with its national partners during the second annual National Summit for Mental Health First Aid Instructors May 1 in San Diego. Benton Goon, Missouri's representative on the National MHFA USA collaborative, reminded participants of the challenges of "living in the house of MHFA that we are building." Dottie Mullikin, Missouri's MHFA director, served on a panel sharing practical information on how to obtain funding for MHFA.

The state of Missouri, the state of Maryland, and the National Council for Community Behavioral Health Care are the founding partners of Mental Health First Aid USA.

 

Governor signs legislation in support of Mental Health First Aid

The Missouri legislature has passed, and Governor Jay Nixon has signed, a bill allowing profits derived from the Mental Health First Aid USA (MHFA) initiative to be reinvested to support the program in Missouri. Without the legislation, such funds would go into the state's general revenue account.

House Bill 557, first introduced February 17 by Representative Jeff Grisamore (R-Lee' Summit), was signed by House Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller (R-Willard) on Friday, April 22. "This legislation will allow the momentum of expansion of Mental Health First Aid USA in Missouri to continue," said Benton Goon, co-chair of Missouri's Transformation Working Group and the state's representative on the national MHFA planning group. Governor Nixon signed the bill into law on May 5.

Mental Health First Aid USA is one of the initiatives begun under the auspices of Missouri's Mental Health Transformation grant. For more information on Mental Health First Aid, go to www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org.