Mental Health First Aid, a training program created in Australia in 2001 by Betty Kitchener, a nurse specializing in health education, and Anthony Jorm, a mental health literacy professor, has since been licensed and adapted for use in more than 21 countries, including the U.S.
In 2015, about 10.5 million people, or 3.3 percent of the U.S. population (2.7 percent in the Northeast), reported serious psychological distress, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A growing number of local MHFA programs prepare laypeople and emergency professionals for individuals showing symptoms of depression, anxiety or similar distress. Mental health ailments also include trauma, substance use disorders, psychosis, self-harm and suicide, according to Lifespan Corp.
It pays to know how to recognize the signs of mental distress and respond constructively, said Kimberly LaFountain, behavioral education development specialist at Bradley Hospital and director of the Bradley Gateway Mental Health First Aid program.
Retired Warwick Police Capt. Joseph Coffey testified before Congress in 2014 about the importance of such training in police work and recounted how Providence Police Lt. Dan Gannon used his training to successfully defuse a potentially violent incident during an encounter with a distressed young man wielding a knife.
In 2016, Rhode Island required police officers to receive MHFA training.
In October, University of Rhode Island became the first university in the state to begin offering MHFA training. By late September, more than 300 people at URI had been trained, including 185 resident assistants and academic mentors, said Lindsey Anderson, director of URI’s Psychological Consultation Center. Another 400 people were expected to receive the training by the semester’s end.
Margaret Paccione-Dyszlewski, director of clinical innovation at Bradley Hospital, said there’s an increasing demand, especially among first-responder professions such as police, firefighters and EMTs, to learn the skills they’ll need to identify mental health issues, deliver emergency care and direct people to professional services.
“The course is taught by certified trainers utilizing a manualized curriculum. Individuals who participate in an MHFA course receive information regarding psychiatric symptoms, treatment and ways in which a person in distress can be supportively approached,” said Paccione-Dyszlewski.
Students enrolled in the eight-hour course, which costs $99 to $129 at Bradley, learn to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness.
The purpose is not to solve someone’s problems on the spot, but to properly equip people so they can intervene in a crisis just long enough for professional help to arrive, LaFountain said.
The Washington County Coalition for Children’s Youth Mental Health First Aid class, offered free to residents, began as an initiative for the county’s seven school districts, said coalition coordinator Susan Orban, who also serves as director of the South County Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds Health Equity Zone. Such zones, funded by the R.I. Department of Health and the CDC, are tasked with eliminating health disparities among area communities through healthy strategies.
‘Any caring adult can be trained to help save a young life.’
DR. ROBERT HARRISON, Westerly Hospital Youth Mental Health First Aid program coordinator
South County Health administers South County Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, of which the coalition is an active partner.
The YMHFA training programs are available at South County Hospital and Westerly Hospital, among other county venues. The instruction was initially paid for through a $99,000 grant received in 2015 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Since then, training has continued at Washington County schools, churches, hospitals and other venues, funded through small grants and contracts, Orban said, adding more than 700 people in Washington County have been trained.
The efforts won’t be wasted. Two Washington County towns, Hopkinton and Richmond, rank among the top five state municipalities in suicide rates at 26.6 percent and 23.8 percent, respectively, according to RIDOH.
According to WCCC, from 2010-2014 there were a total of 74 suicides in Washington County. According to RIDOH, Washington County’s suicide rate of 10.8 suicides per 100,000 people is the highest in the state.
“I honestly believe that the best and perhaps only prompt way to intervene in this crisis is to mobilize each community by training as many adults as possible in Youth Mental Health First Aid,” said Dr. Robert Harrison, coordinator for the YMHFA program at Westerly Hospital.
Half of all mental health issues start by age 14 and three-quarters start by age 24, Harrison said. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for ages 10-34 in the U.S., he said, and 22.2 percent of youth ages 13-19 have a diagnosable mental health challenge.
“The earlier intervention happens, the greater the chance of success. Almost 90 percent of all mental health diagnoses can be treated to allow one to function successfully. Any caring adult can be trained to help save a young life,” Harrison said.
