Youth Mental Health First Aid is a public education program that introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental illnesses, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common supports.  This course explains how to offer initial help in a mental health crisis and connect persons to the appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care.  The program also teaches the common risk factors and warning signs of specific types of illnesses, like anxiety, depression, substance use, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and schizophrenia. 

Participants will learn how to:

Assess for risk of suicide or harm

Listen non-judgmentally

Give reassurance and information

Encourage appropriate professional help

Encourage self-help and other support strategies

This online course will be presented in a series of three, two-hour sessions via Zoom. Series presentation dates and times are as follows:

Tuesday, May 26, 10:00 - 12:00 pm

Session One Agenda: 

• Welcome and ground rules
• Overview of Youth Mental Health First Aid
• Opinion Quiz
• Prevalence of Mental Disorders
• Resiliency
• YMHFA and the Spectrum of Interventions
• YMHFA Action Plan
• Signs and Symptoms
• Q & A

Wednesday, May 27, 10:00 - 12:00 pm

Session Two Agenda:

• Risk Factors for Developing a Mental Health Disorder
• Protective Factors
• Assess for Risk of Suicide of Harm
• What Do You Do?
• Using the ALGEE Action Plan
• Listen Non-Judgmentally
• Give Reassurance and Information
• Encouraging Appropriate Professional Help
• Q & A 

Thursday, May 28, 10:00 - 12:00 pm

Session Three Agenda:

• Encourage Self-Help and Other Support Strategies
• YMHFA for Crisis Situations
• Types of Crisis
• Suicide Warning Signs
• Taking Care of the First Aider
• Revisit Opinion Quiz
• YMHFA Exam
• Evaluations and Wrap-Up