HAMPDEN/WILBRAHAM – First aid treats a variety of ailments, from wounds to broken bones to more serious injuries, such as heart attacks. A program through the Hampden-Wilbraham Partners for Youth (HWP4Y) seeks to teach people how to triage youth mental health issues in the same way.

The Youth Mental Health First Aid training course was developed by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and is designed to train individuals how to intervene when a young person is struggling.

“We’re excited about getting this out there,” said HWP4Y Director Gina Kahn. “A child’s emotional status doesn’t manifest in the same way as an adult. While resilient, the ACEs studies show lifelong impacts on children,” she said, referring to research on how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma can damage a child’s development and sense of safety, stability and bonding.

Program

The idea for the mental health first aid trainings came a few years ago when the district received a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). After the grant ended, Kahn said, the trainings were written into the mission of HWP4Y.

The current program is funded with a five-year mental health awareness training grant. The eight-hour, no cost training course can be in person or in a virtual format. Kahn said a newer version allows participants to do pre-work online, bringing the course time down to six hours. Trainings are available upon request for groups of five or more people.

The HWP4Y plans to train all school personnel and then expand to other parts of the community, including libraries, faith organizations and coaches.

CPR

One of the major topics tackled in the course is understanding the role of a mental health first aider. Kahn said the training teaches humility. “We are not here to diagnose,” she said.

Rather, Kahn said, the program uses a five-step process. The first step is assessing the immediate risk of harm or suicide. The next step is listening non-judgmentally, which Kahn called, “such a gift to give to a young person.”

The first aider then focuses on giving support and reassurance, along with encouraging the youth to seek professional help or encouraging self-help and support strategies.

“We’re giving CPR. We’re not doing heart surgery,” Kahn said as a metaphor.
The course also emphasizes avoiding the tendency to process a child’s feelings through one’s own history or experiences, Kahn said.
Flexible

HWP4Y Coordinator Brianna Berneche said the interactions someone may have with a struggling youth largely depend on how well a first aider knows the person. “It may be as simple as asking a question or sitting quietly with someone,” she said.

The training is flexible and will be applied differently with one’s children than with a student or other member of the community. “It will look different in different situations,” Kahn said. No matter the situation, however, the adult is there to give the same message: “You’re okay and I’m here to help,” she said.

Anyone Can Benefit

Berneche said anyone with a relationship with kids can benefit from the course. Training is open to all adults and people can use the teachings with their own children, friends of the family or with other young people between the ages of 12 and 25 with whom they interact.

Kahn said the training is valuable for young adults heading into “the outside world.” She said, “Once you leave high school, away from family and the contained world, you may encounter mental health crises in college.” She added that a lot of the training is “dispelling myths” about mental health.
Berneche said, “The course is a really good way to break down dense topics.”

Kahn said the program gives laypeople a language to speak with youth who are struggling from a professional, “more informed” perspective, while reducing stigma and bolstering early intervention.

Talking to young people about how they feel is, “something you think you’d know how to do,” Berneche said, but added the training “can benefit everyone,” especially when broaching the topic of suicide.

“Becoming comfortable with asking outright if someone is suicidal is hard,” but Berneche said it can keep kids from falling through the cracks. “To know that you could be the one to get them help,” Berneche said, is rewarding.
So far two trainings have been done. HWP4Y are partnering with Pathways for Parents, for an upcoming training. Currently, Kahn and Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) Mental Health Community Resource and Training Coordinator Kerri O’Connor are the only certified trainers, but Berneche will soon be certified.

Needed Resource

Kahn said the need for the program is high, and not just in HWRSD. She explained, “many of the social supports natural in a young person’s life were unavailable,” over the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The peak age of onset for mental illness is early adolescence and one in five youth, 20 percent, will experience a mental health disorder.

“We are surprised to learn that mental health symptoms can begin at early ages,” Kahn said. “Adults have a concept of childhood that is their own, but the world that they are growing up in is not the same,” Kahn said. She cited use of social media, and the pressures and impact that go with it, at ages as young as 8. “Life has changed exponentially,” she said.

“Feelings and emotions need to be discharged in a positive way,” Kahn said. “It’s important to be more aware of creating an environment where [youth] feel safe,” Kahn said.

For more information, visit https://hwp4y.org/community/youth-mental-health-first-aid-training.html. To learn more about ACEs, visit https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html.