VC Care Coalition Brings Mental Health First Aid Training To Community

The Valley County CARE Coalition hosted the first Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course of the year on April 30. With the Glasgow Evangelical Church as the venue, six members of the community attended the day-long event taught by Connie Wethern to learn about how to recognize the patterns of thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and appearance that show there might be a crisis.

Mental Health First Aid is the help offered to a person developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate treatment and support are received or until the crisis resolves. “We all come by someone who needs help. The goal at the end of this course is to be able to help someone, and want to help them, through their crisis,” stated Wethern.

A mental disorder or mental illness is a diagnosable illness that affects a person’s thinking, emotional state and behavior as well as disrupts a person’s ability to work, carry out activities and engage in satisfying relationships. “Mental health problems are common, however people are ashamed about being diagnosed with a mental health issue and people don’t get the help that the need,” said Wethern. According to the course, 50 percent of those who are experiencing mental health problems don’t seek treatment because of the stigma associated with getting the help they need. “There is something we can do to change. Language is powerful, how we talk about it is powerful. Your choice of words can either break down misconceptions and stereotypes or feed into them……So it’s really up to us to get out there and use words that are not stigmatizing,” explained Wethern. “It’s up to us, as part of this class to discuss things in the right wordage.”

Wethern discussed the many reasons why people can benefit from training in Mental Health First Aid due to the commonality of mental health problems, people not being informed, not seeking the help they need or delaying seeking help, the stigma, not having the insight they need help or may be unaware that effective help is available and the inability to have professional and other support services available when a mental health problem arises.

“Telemeds came out because of COVID and because of that what we are seeing is we’re able to access more therapists, psychologists and stuff over the telemeds which is great because we don’t have to travel then,” Wethern stated.

Throughout the course, attendees learned about the different mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, psychosis and substance use disorders, as in order to help in a mental health crisis, it’s good to have basic knowledge of the condition itself. The first aider can then approach the person and follow the mental health first aid action plan of ALGEE, Assess the risk of suicide or harm, Listen nonjudgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage appropriate professional help and Encourage self-help and other support strategies. The course then went into the best ways to assist a person experiencing a mental health crisis.

In addition to ALGEE, another concept that was stressed was a mental health first aider does not diagnose what is going on, instead they encourage the person experiencing the crisis to obtain self and/or professional help. “As a caregiver, we also need to take care of our self in healthy ways. Stress management includes eating healthy and having an exercise regimen. If you encourage someone to do something to help them, like take a walk, go on the walk with them,” said Wethern.

One of the event organizers Michelle Norcutt stated she was happy for the turnout. “It’s six people who wouldn’t otherwise have gone through the training. When we planned this event out months ago, we had no idea the other events that would be going on in town.”

Additional dates for the MHFA course this year are July 9, Sept. 24 and Dec. 10. The course is scheduled 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a one hour break from noon to 1 p.m. Childcare is also available, organizers just ask to register at least one week in advance. Registration can be completed through this link https://form.jotform.com/220723811612143. If you have any questions about the course, please call Connie Wethern at 406-263-1484.