Author Archive: March 2015

I became a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Instructor to address the mental health stigma that exists among Black men and to share what I learned with the faith-based community and to share with first responder. I have advocated for...

Mental health is a very important topic that needs to be talked about more often. Mental health challenges are more prevalent in our society now than ever before. In fact, research shows that almost one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness at any given time.  While I have not faced challenges...

En noviembre de 2011 obtuve mi certificación como rescatista en Primeros Auxilios para la Salud Mental. Me impresionó mucho todo lo que aprendí, por lo que asistí a otra capacitación en enero del año siguiente en el 2012, para entender...

In November 2011, I became certified as a Mental Health First Aider. I was so impressed with what I learned, I attended another training the following January – I wanted to be sure I absorbed everything. On the day of the second training, I decided that that I would become a certified Mental Health First Aid...

Our company began its journey providing Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training in 2018, after noticing an increase in employees seeking help from their managers and the company during personal crises. What started as a few isolated incidents morphed into...

Mental health has always been a focus in my life, starting with my own struggles as an adolescent. As such, I was honored when my school district asked me, as a special education teacher and the district wellness coordinator, to become a...

In December 2020, I took a Youth Mental Health First Aid class. This training teaches parents, teachers and other adults how to support young people with mental health challenges, including how to use nonjudgmental listening skills and how to approach a young person and encourage...

Being a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Instructor fits perfectly with where I’m at personally and professionally. Working in the largest psychiatric hospital in Texas – with a staff of more than 900 – I see how many people really, truly care about other people, but don’t know what else they can do on top of day-to-day patient care. Thanks to MHFA, we’re establishing a staff support system where we...

“I didn’t want to go to the [Mental Health First Aid] training, but I did. I never thought I would use any of the information or remember it, but I did shortly after the training. My friend had been struggling with depression....

Taking Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, being a First Aider, has changed me. I’ve been with Sutter-Yuba Behavioral Health (SYBH) for 25 years. SYBH provides services to individuals and families who are experiencing serious or ongoing mental health and/or substance use disorders...

How do you help someone who is struggling? How do you help them without making assumptions about what they are going through, and without making it worse?   These are all questions that I learned the answers to during the teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) class.   tMHFA teaches that teens prefer to tell other teens about what they...

Brandon was an outgoing, fun-loving and enjoyable co-worker whose life ended abruptly after a night of heavy drinking. His death had a profound impact on our staff as we learned he had been living with a mental health challenge and substance use that had gone unrecognized.   We serve...