Positive Directions Offers Mental Health First Aid Training NCC

On Friday, April 26, 2019, Positive Directions-The Center for Prevention and Counseling will be offering Mental Health First Aid training at Norwalk Community College. This groundbreaking eight-hour training course gives people the tools to identify when someone might be struggling with a mental health or substance use problem and to connect them with appropriate support and resources when necessary. This program is being offered free of charge to individuals 18+ with sponsorship made possible by the Westport Young Woman’s League and in partnership with Norwalk Community College.

One in five Americans has a mental illness, but many are reluctant to seek help or might not know where to turn for care. Unlike physical conditions, symptoms of mental health and substance use problems can be difficult to detect. For friends and family members, it can be hard to know when and how to step in. As a result, those in need of mental health services often do not get them until it is too late.

Just as CPR helps even those without clinical training assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid prepares participants to interact with a person experiencing a mental health crisis. Mental Health First Aiders learn a 5-step action plan that guides them through the process of reaching out and offering appropriate support.

“Through this program, we hope to take the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems,” says Linda Rosenberg President and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health, which helped bring Mental Health First Aid to the U.S. in 2008. “When more people are equipped with the tools they need to start a dialogue, more people can get the help they may need.”

In just ten years, Mental Health First Aid has become a full-blown movement in the United States—more than 1 million people are certified Mental Health First Aiders, and that number is growing every day.

"Bringing Mental Health First Aid will allow our community to be more aware of mental health challenges and disorders as well as being in a better position to offer assistance. Within my position as the Mental Health Counselor on-campus, I want to ensure that our campus and at-large community know that mental health challenges are common and that through offering this training, it helps to reduce stigma,” mentioned Lisa Slade, Mental Health Counselor at Norwalk Community College.

For more information or to participate in this upcoming Mental Health First Aid training, visit: www.mentalhealthNCC.eventbrite.com or contact Angelina Miceli at 203-227-7644 / amiceli@positivedirections.org.