Mental Health First Aid introduced in Ventura County

“We are looking forward to bringing Mental Health First Aid to our communities throughout the county,” says Meloney Roy, Director of Ventura County Behavioral Health.  “People have been trained in First Aid for medical emergencies for years and that training has undoubtedly saved many lives.  Now with people trained in mental health first aide we’ll hopefully have a better informed community and people more equipped to help someone who is experiencing a mental health crisis.   Our hope is to reduce stigma, increase empathy and similar to regular first aide, save lives.”

Mental Health First Aid is a 12-hour training course designed to give members of the public key skills to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.  The new instructors will be certified to teach the 12-hour program to a variety of audiences, ranging from healthcare students and providers to local law enforcement.  The instructor certification training was conducted by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, who brought Mental Health First Aid to the US in early 2008.

“We’re enthused to welcome Ventura County Behavioral Health as a partner in extending mental health first aid across the country” says Linda Rosenberg, MSW, president and CEO of the National Council.   “We anticipate the new instructors will have a great impact on the mental health communities throughout Ventura County and will be key players in improving mental health literacy nationwide.”

The new instructors join nearly 700 U.S. instructors already certified by MHFA-USA in instructor training.  To date, instructors primarily represent health and behavioral healthcare, but also include representatives from law enforcement, schools, universities, and primary care.  Mental Health First Aid-USA has certified instructors at more than 300 organizations in 39 states, and looks forward to bringing Mental Health First Aid to every state, ultimately becoming as common as CPR and First Aid training.

Auspiced at the University of Melbourne and founded by nurse and mental health consumer Betty Kitchener and researcher Anthony Jorm, Mental Health First Aid has built an evidence base in Australia demonstrating that those who complete the 12 hour program feel more comfortable managing a crisis and exhibit increased mental health literacy - being able to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders.