It’s a beautiful day to save a life.
That’s one of my favorite lines from Grey’s Anatomy – and it’s one I say to myself every time I donate blood or sign on for my weekly shift as a Trevor Project volunteer.
Now, I’ve got another way to potentially help save lives: as a certified Youth Mental Health First Aid provider.
Mental Health First Aid is a national and international training and certification program that teaches parents, teachers, coaches, first responders and other community members how to identify, understand and respond to early signs and symptoms of a mental health challenge or crisis.
Just as every one of us should know basic first aid – and how to help someone in need of physical assistance due to an accident or injury – we should all also know the basics of mental health first aid.
Knowing how to provide Mental Health First Aid doesn’t mean I can diagnose or treat mental health challenges – it just means I am now trained in how to potentially spot someone struggling and how to start a conversation that might help them.
I specifically took the youth-oriented Mental Health First Aid course but there’s one for adults as well. As much as I thought I knew about mental health – from lived experience plus my Trevor Project training – I still learned a lot from this program. It was a truly worthwhile use of time and I highly recommend it!
The Youth Mental Health First Aid training can be done in person, virtually (over Zoom) or as a blended hybrid of both. I chose the virtual option and it began with an online pre-work component that took about two hours. There were nine online training modules to work through with quizzes to pass for each module before moving on to each new section.
Then, on the day of our Youth Mental Health First Aid class, we had a 9 am to 3 pm Zoom call – in mandatory camera-on mode – to go through the rest of the course live with instructors. They also do this training session in person at locations around the state, but it worked better for me to do it over Zoom.
Attendees are provided with resources and materials for reference during and after the class. The class focuses on three main areas:
- Youth mental health first aid in non-crisis situations
- Youth mental health first aid in crisis scenarios
- Self-care for the Youth Mental Health First Aider
As a parent and caregiver, I really appreciated the focus on self-care. It has long been a priority for me and is such an important part of staying healthy and mentally fit to be able to assist others going through challenges and struggles!
Youth Mental Health First Aid focuses on a simple, memorable action plan that can be summed up by the acronym ALGEE:
- A – Assess for risk of suicide or harm
- L – Listen nonjudgmentally
- G – Give reassurance and information
- E – Encourage appropriate professional help
- E – Encourage self-help and other support strategies
With 1 in 5 teens and young adults experiencing a mental health condition, it’s more important than ever for all of us to be able to recognize common signs and symptoms of a mental health struggle and know how to interact with a child or adolescent experiencing a crisis.
I highly recommend connecting with the Mental Health First Aid coordinator in your area if you’re interested in taking this course. It would be a great goal for 2024. It could be a great day for YOU to save a life!
