Mental health first aid is like CPR for a mind in crisis
MIAMI - May is Mental Health Awareness Month, but awareness is just the first step.
Being able to actually help someone in a crisis is also critical.
Think of it like CPR for the mind.
Just like there are courses to teach you how to help someone who isn't breathing, there are courses to teach you "Mental Health First Aid."
"It is designed to take anyone and everyone who's not a trained mental health professional to understand how to recognize those signs and symptoms in their fellow community members, in their loved ones," said Dr. Allison Golden, a licensed psychologist.
The National Council of Mental Well-Being oversees the program, which is administered locally by the Jeff Masarek Behavioral Health Center at Goodman Jewish Family Services.
"I think there's not a day that goes by where you don't need some form of mental health first aid," said course participant Nicole Melendez.
Melendez is the Vice President of Strategy for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County.
She is also "mental health first aid" certified.
"We're developing a skill set that allows us to just be more comfortable, to have vulnerable conversations about mental health with no right or wrong answer, but just to help us feel comfortable, you know, addressing issues that we may see in our everyday workplace or again, providing a resource or tool to our Children and our families at the end of the day," Melendez told CBS News Miami's Lauren Pastrana.
The course is 8 hours long, but part of it can be done virtually.
There's a test at the end, and once you pass it, you are officially certified for three years.
"There's lecture, but there's a ton of activity and a ton of hands-on. There's video, there's activities, there's interaction, there's movement," Dr. Golden said.
The course teaches participants to:
- Assess for risk of suicide or harm.
- Listen non-judgmentally.
- Give reassurance and information.
- Encourage appropriate professional help.
- Encourage self-help and other support strategies.
"It's vital that we're getting the word out and really letting people understand that this is something that's valuable and that we need to talk about it so that people feel more able to access resources and are willing to go get support," Dr. Golden said.
"It's nice to just know that we have this tool belt to reach into, to say, 'OK, I can provide these resources and feel more comfortable to recommend it to others'," Melendez added.
Thanks to state funding, the course is currently available for free.
For more information on how to book a free group training sessions, click here.