Attitudes in Reverse Offers Youth Mental Health First Aid Course

Attitudes in Reverse (AIR) is offering a two-day Youth Mental Health First Aid workshop on March 29 and 30 in Princeton.

People can sign up online here. The price for current AIR volunteers is $25 and for non-volunteers is $50. The workshop will be Friday, March 29th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 30th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m at AIR's headquarters at 707 Alexander Road, Suite 208, Princeton, NJ 08540. Light refreshments will be served.

Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people.

The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Through this eight-hour training program, they will teach adults how to recognize when students are experiencing mental health crises and the actions to take to effectively intervene, de-escalate the crises and refer the students to mental health professionals if needed. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders.

AIR’s Co-Founders, Tricia and Kurt Baker, recently became certified Youth Mental Health First Aid instructors through the National Council for Behavioral Health. This nationally recognized program is endorsed by former First Lady Michelle Obama.

By providing Youth Mental Health First Aid training to school faculty and staff, and the Coming Up for AIR™ presentation to students, AIR covers all the essential bases to help ensure students get the help they need – by either having an adult recognize their struggles and reach out to them, or having them feel comfortable opening up to an adult about their challenges and proactively seeking help.

People who cannot attend the workshop but still wish to help, can make a donation to AIR.

To learn more about Attitudes in Reverse and their mental health awareness programs, please visit the AIR website.