On Monday, February 20th, fourteen CCFLers came together to learn about Mental Health First Aid with Cheryl Turner and Angela Gebhardt, who are certified instructors for the Mental Health First Aid course.
In the United States alone, 740,000 people have been trained with the goal of combatting stigma and knowledge deficits in order to increase awareness and understanding of those who are managing mental health symptoms. The goal is to have at least one million individuals trained, and the campaign has even been supported by Congress to the tune of $15 million to assist with providing the training to law enforcement, education, and other public service entities.
The acronym that was emphasized throughout the day was A.L.G.E.E. (Assess for risk of suicide or harm, Listen nonjudgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage appropriate professional help, Encourage self-help and other support strategies). Cheryl and Angela did an excellent job of presenting as well as adapting to the most difficult audience (their peers). If you are interested in learning more, contact Cheryl or Angela; or you can visit the Mental Health First Aid website at http://www.mhfakc.org. Thank you, Cheryl and Angela, for presenting this useful information as well as an opportunity for staff to collect some of their professional development hours!