Mental Health First Aid
NCSS introduces Mental Health First Aid to Vermont Franklin and Grand Isle County residents to benefit from innovative approach
Do you realize that you’re more likely to encounter a person in an emotional or mental crisis than someone having a heart attack? Mental health disorders are more common than heart disease and cancer combined. What if a program was introduced that will prevent a major disruption to a persons work and family life or the need to be hospitalized? What if individuals that encounter depression and anxiety disorders could be helped sooner rather than suffering for long periods without treatment? The number of lost days at work and the economic burden would be significantly reduced. Nationwide, untreated mental health disorders cost $79 billion in lost productivity every year. Some additional facts to consider… over 1 in 5 people in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties presently seeks help for mental health services… suicide rates are rising… growing prescription drug abuse problem related to a range of concerns… domestic violence rates in Vermont are at an all-time high… all of these and more have resulted in demand for support being greater than the resources to meet the needs. Realizing all of these facts, Ted J. Mable, Executive Director of Northwestern Counseling & Support Services (NCSS) decided to bring the Mental Health First Aid to Vermont. Founded in Australia in 2001, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) operates in 14 countries, including Canada and the United States. Among its mandates are to educate people on the importance of recognizing the signs of mental illness and reducing the stigma of mental illness through compassion, caring , and understanding. During the week of June 21st, NCSS hosted the five-day Mental Health First Aid Training for Trainers program, after which successful participants become certified trainers. They are then able to offer the 12-hour MHFA certification program to members of the community. The primary focus of the 12-hour course is to teach ordinary citizens how to provide early intervention when they see someone---a friend, loved one, or stranger on the street—who appears to be in mental distress, whether from anxiety or stress or a psychotic break. “This is something anyone can take”, says Mable. “It’s something that needs to be spread around in the community.” Mable likens Mental Health First Aid to its more widely recognized cousin; Standard First Aid course, which teaches individuals how to react to a medical situation, whether it’s a life-threatening situation or a simple case of a broken leg, or someone needing a stitch or two. “The analogy drawn during training is that, like medical first aid, you’re not trained as a professional, you’re trained as first responder,” he says. “It teaches you things like what to watch for—unusual or erratic behavior, signs of depression or anxiety---and it teaches you how to reach out to people in need.” “The fundamental difference is that while most people react to a medical emergency without hesitation, people tend to avoid getting involved when they see a person having a mental illness.” Mable says, “Individuals experiencing psychoses are shunned. A large part of what our course is intended to do is to increase mental health literacy within our population. It allows you to identify that there is something happening to a person, address it by talking to them, and be able to refer them to the mental health services that are available.” “Once people understand that Mental Health First Aid is not about being a therapist, it’s not about being a counselor---it’s simply recognizing that a person is in need—they feel more comfortable with the program. You might not use it on a stranger, but with a person you’ve seen or the person you have a relationship with, MHFA can do a lot of good.” Reaching Out Mable hopes that the cadre of 24 trainers will first be offering the MHFA program to their local places of work and then the hope to begin offering the program to all the agencies and citizens throughout Franklin and Grand Isle Counties. In about a year it is hoped that we will have the capability to begin offering the program to other areas of the state. Mable says this is truly a prevention program. An investment in time and a little resource hopefully will have a huge impact down the line. To cite one example, what if the program prevented as few as two people from being incarcerated? Think of how that would assist the Department of Corrections not to mention the annual savings to the Vermont tax payers of over $60,000 per inmate. Mental Health First Aid will also go a long way in addressing stigma throughout Franklin and Grand Isle Counties. A perfect compliment to the NCSS STIGMA initiative… Striving to Increase Good Mental health Awareness. For more information about program content contact Ted Mable at 393-6416; tmable@ncssinc.org or Lynn Daudelin at 393-6415; ldaudelin@ncssinc.org.
Brochure Application
| 
