Mental Health First Aid

 Another training program that I highly recommend is Mental Health First Aid, from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (formerly the National Council for Behavioral Health). This is a much more in-depth training than the ASK About Suicide training I discussed in my last blog. It’s 8 hours long, but I believe it’s worth every minute you’ll need to invest in it.

This is a very interactive training, not an 8 hour lecture, so don’t worry that you’ll be bored or falling asleep. In fact, I’ve taken this course twice now, and both times I spent the entire night before in an emergency room with a family member in crisis, but I had no trouble staying awake, and I certainly wasn’t bored.

The first section of the course is a general overview of mental health and an explanation of Mental Health First Aid. According to the manual provided with the course, Mental Health First Aid aims to: “preserve life when a person may be a danger to self or others; provide help to prevent the problem from becoming more serious; promote and enhance recovery; and provide comfort and support.” (National Council for Behavioral Health and the Missouri Department of Mental Health, Mental Health First Aid USA: First Edition (Revised), Adult, 12)

Like any first aid, Mental Health First Aid is not meant to replace professional help, but rather to provide help until professional help can be obtained. This first section also shares why this training is needed and outlines the 5-step Action Plan, “ALGEE,” of Mental Health First Aid.

ALGEE stands for:

• Assess for risk of suicide or harm
• Listen nonjudgmentally 
• Give reassurance and information
• Encourage appropriate professional help
• Encourage self-help and other support strategies

(Mental Health First Aid, 13)

The second section of the course is an in-depth look at 5 common mental health disorders: depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, substance use disorders, and eating disorders. Through examples and role-playing, attendees are trained to apply the “ALGEE” action plan to developing mental health disorders. The instructor may not cover each of these disorders in the training, but the book that accompanies the course provides very detailed information about each of the disorders, including symptoms, statistics, and resources.

The final section of the course covers first aid for certain mental health crises (8 in all). Again, the instructor probably will not cover each of these crises in depth, but there is plenty of information about each crisis in the course book.

Mental Health First Aid may not be for everyone. I know it’s a big investment of time. However, if you have a loved one with mental health struggles or you work with vulnerable individuals, I urge you to seriously consider getting trained. Vulnerable individuals are those who have a higher risk of being in crisis, including: children, teens, and young adults; the homeless; women in crisis pregnancies; military members and veterans; and many more.

Follow the link below to find out more about the training and to find a trainer in your area:

https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/

ASK about Suicide

 When you suspect that someone may be contemplating suicide, the most important thing you can do is ASK. Many people believe that asking someone about suicide will put the idea into his head, but most studies show that this isn’t true. If you do ask and the answer is yes, you must be prepared to act immediately.

There are many resources that teach you how and when to ask this important question and what to do if the answer is yes. I’ll be outlining several of them in my next few blogs.

Today I’d like to talk about a video series called “Ask about Suicide (ASK),” which you can access here:

https://texassuicideprevention.org/training/video-training-lessons-guides/ask-about-suicide-ask/ 

This is a series of short videos from the Texas Suicide Prevention Collaborative. There are five videos in all, but if you don’t have time to watch them all, I urge you to at least watch episodes 2, 3, and 4. It only takes about an hour to watch all 5 videos, and the individual videos are pretty short.

The first video is an introduction to the series. It also explains what the acronym “ASK” stands for: Ask about suicide; Seek more information and keep safe; and Know where and how to refer.

This video gives a lot of statistics, many of which are out of date or specific to Texas, but there are a few key points that don’t change much over time:

• More females attempt suicide, but more males die by suicide, probably because men tend to use more lethal means than women.
• African American females have a lower rate of suicide, most likely because they tend to have a strong support system.
• Latino youth tend to have a high rate of suicide attempts, possibly because of isolation and a feeling of not fitting in at home or at school.

The second video is “Risk Factors and Protective Factors.” It discusses risk factors in 3 categories: biological/psychological; social/cultural; and environmental. It then goes on to list some protective factors (things that help to reduce the effects of risk factors, such as a strong support system). Finally, the video emphasizes the importance of decreasing risk factors and increasing protective factors to reduce the likelihood of suicide.

Video #3 is “Warning signs.” It discusses warning signs, direct and indirect, verbal and nonverbal. It also addresses the “suicidal zone,” a period of time when risk factors are high and protective factors are low, when the person is at extremely high risk of a suicide attempt.

This suicidal period usually only lasts a few hours or even minutes, but it’s a time when quick action is crucial. Asking someone if he is thinking about suicide, and taking action if he is, can interrupt the suicidality long enough for the crisis to be averted.

The fourth video, “ASK: The 3 Step Process to Save a Life,” is probably the most important of the 5 videos, so if you can only watch 1 video, this would be the one to watch. It outlines and explains each of the 3 critical steps in the ASK process.

The first step is to ask about suicide. The video teaches you how to ask and, just as importantly, how not to ask. For instance, you shouldn’t say, “You’re not thinking about suicide, are you?” It’s also important to be aware of your nonverbal cues when asking this question.

The second step is to seek more information and keep safe. This should be done in a private place.

 If someone has told you they are thinking about suicide, you should ask them if they have a plan and if they have access to lethal means. If the answer to either of these questions is yes, the person is likely at an immediate high risk of suicide, and you need to take immediate action.

The video goes into great detail about some of the things you can do. One of the most important things to remember about this step is to never leave the person alone, unless your own safety is at risk. As I said in my last blog, don’t just give the person a number to call and then leave, expecting the person to follow through.

The final step is to know where and how to refer. This step needs to be taken before the crisis occurs. That means researching sources of help in your area ahead of time.

The final video is only about 5 minutes long. It contains the testimony of a young man who used this ASK training to save a life.