The Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute (NRCI) at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is finishing up its first year of a three-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, initially awarded in 2018. The Mental Health Awareness Training grant (MHAT) offers funding to provide Mental Health First Aid trainings.
“While The Chicago School works to train mental health professionals and increase the capacity of the workforce, the truth is many people in need won’t come in contact with a licensed mental health professional due to the shortage of them,” says Kate Mahoney, L.C.S.W., the executive director of the NRCI. “We want members of the general public to have the skills to assist someone who might be in crisis. Mental Health First Aid trainings are designed to empower others to do just that. One of the strategies that Mental Health First Aid teaches is how to make appropriate referrals when needed.”
Mahoney applied for the grant believing that Mental Health First Aid training—an evidence-based public education and prevention tool—would complement NRCI’s mission of reducing mental illness stigma by providing mental health education. The grant has allowed 19 people to become certified to teach the eight-hour course to members of the public.
Even if you just think about it like a general medical first aid, the more people in the community that are aware of how to assist others, the more the network will grow.
In the first year of the grant, Mahoney and her team of certified trainers have trained more than 100 people. In subsequent years, they hope to train 200 people each year. The training itself teaches people a five-step action plan of how to help somebody who might be experiencing a mental illness and covers different topics like depression and mood disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma, psychosis, and substance use disorders.
Mahoney compares Mental Health First Aid to traditional First Aid or CPR in how it can be effectively implemented.
“Even if you just think about it like a general medical first aid, the more people in the community that are aware of how to assist others, the more the network will grow. It helps build access to support that somebody may be needing in that time,” Mahoney says. “We want people to be aware of potential indicators of suicide and empower others to connect those who may be experiencing a problem or crisis to both professional help and self-help.”
To learn more about upcoming trainings, visit www.naomicoheninstitute.org/conferences/events/.
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