On March 22 and 23, NAMI Kauai will be offering mental health first aid training in Lihue.
This eight-hour training course gives people the tools to identify when someone might be struggling with a mental health or substance use problem and to connect them with appropriate support and resources.
One in five Americans has a mental illness, but many are reluctant to seek help or might not know where to turn for care. Unlike physical conditions, symptoms of mental health and substance use problems can be difficult to detect.
“For friends and family members, it can be hard to know when and how to step in,” a press release said. “As a result, those in need of mental health services often do not get them until it is too late.”
Just as CPR helps even those without clinical training assist an individual having a heart attack, mental health first aid prepares participants to interact with a person experiencing a mental heal crisis.
Mental health first aiders learn a five-step action plan that guides them through the process of reaching out and offering appropriate support.
“Through this program, we hope to take the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems,” says Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health, which helped bring mental health first aid to the U.S. in 2008. “When more people are equipped with the tools they need to start a dialogue, more people can get the help they may need.”
In just 10 years, mental health first aid has become a full-blown movement in the United States—more than 1 million people are certified mental health first aiders, and that number is growing every day.
Kathy Sheffield, executive director, NAMI Kauai, has taught mental health first aid to police recruit classes in Maui and Kauai, and will teach the Kauai Fire Department recruits this spring. Additionally, the Kauai Police Department has committed to training all 150 of their patrolmen.
The class size is limited to 14. There will be no cost to the participants of this training. The exact time will be determined by the class composition, but likely will be at noon on March 22, and 9 am March 23.
To register, contact Sheffield to reserve your place. (805) 886-6175 or namikauai@yahoo.com
