Earn a three-year certification through this eight-hour course that teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders.
WHAT IT COVERS
- Common signs and symptoms of mental illness.
- Common signs and symptoms of substance use.
- What is helpful vs. unhelpful when interacting with a person in crisis.
- How to connect the person with help.
- NEW: How to administer naloxone in the event of an opioid overdose.
We use a mixture of slideshows, discussions, group activities, short videos, and roleplaying to teach you how you can be a more supportive member of your community.
It is statistically very likely that you interact with folks who experience mental health or substance use challenges on a daily basis, yet our culture stigmatizes these problems to the point that many feel uncomfortable talking openly about them. During this course, we will create a space where we discuss mental health while acknowledging that there is lived experience in the room-- not "those people over there" with mental illness but our family members, friends, classmates, coworkers, neighbors, and perhaps ourselves.
Ingry Thurow, the instructor, has been working in outdoor educaiton for eight years primarily with youth and young adults. She has been teaching Mental Health First Aid since March 2016.