1. Name: Ann MacLeod &Suzette Sova-Shaikh
Title: MHFA Law Enforcement &Public Safety
Date:
Introduce yourself as speaker – name, title, organization, background
Why are you speaking about MHFA today?

2. Law Enforcement & Public Safety

3. Mental Health First Aid: Initial help offered to a person developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate treatment and support is received or until the crisis resolves.
Help offered to a person developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis
Like CPR, Given until appropriate treatment and support are received or until the crisis resolves
Not a substitute for counseling, medical care, peer support or other professional treatment

4. Mental Health First Aid
Originated in Australia and currently in 20 countries
Adult MHFA course for individuals 18 years of age and older; available in both Spanish and English
Youth MHFA is designed to teach caring adults how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis
Included in SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence- based Programs and Practices
Partnership with Maryland and Missouri State Governments
MHFA USA is managed Nationally through a partnership between National Council for Behavioral Health as well as Maryland and Missouri State Governments

5. What Participants Learn
Risk factors and warning signs of mental health concerns.
Information on depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis, and substance use.
A 5-step action plan to help someone developing a mental health concern or in crisis.
Available evidence-based professional, peer, and self-help resources.
ALTERNATE “What Participants Learn” SLIDE (Use this or slide 4-NOT BOTH)

6. What You Learn
ALTERNATE “What Participants Learn” SLIDE (Use this or slide 3-NOT BOTH)
Learned through an 8-hour training
The course teaches:
Risk factors and warning signs of mental health concerns.
Information on depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis, and substance use.
A 5-step action plan to help someone developing a mental health concern or in crisis.
Available evidence-based professional, peer, and self-help resources.
Information presented in an interactive classroom environment. Participants have the opportunity to test out the action plan through scenarios, discussions, and other activities.
The standard adult course is available in English and Spanish.
Youth mental health first aid is a separate 8-hour course that specifically teaches participants how to help a youth who may be developing a mental health concern or in crisis.

7. MHFA Action Plan
Assess for risk of suicide or harm Listen nonjudgmentally Give reassurance and information Encourage appropriate professional help Encourage self-help and other support strategies
Briefly describe each action step – what the step entails, give an example.
Note that the plan is not necessarily done in order
Mention that this mnemonic is also the name of the mental health first aid mascot, Algee the koala.

8. Where Mental Health First Aid Can Help
Well
Becoming Unwell
Unwell
Recovering
Prevention
Early Intervention
Treatment
Where Mental Health First Aid can help on the spectrum of mental health interventions

9. Why Mental Health First Aid?
Mental health problems are common
Stigma is associated with mental health problems
Professional help is not always on hand
Individuals with mental health problems often do not seek help
Many people…
are not well informed about mental health problems
do not know how to respond

10. Reach Nearly 250,000 First Aiders in the US
Trained by more than 5,000 Instructors
Reach AK
1,774
(41) WA
4,867 (72) OR
3,134 (98) CA
27,815
(515) NV
646 (34) ID
707 (13) MT
775 (12) WY
105 (39) UT
1,223 (30) AZ
7,281 (120) CO
11,385 (222) NM
4,448 (87) TX
10,997(424) OK
2,122(29) KS
7,241 (94) NE
685 (38) SD
1,444 (14) ND
490 (7) MN
2,778
(24) IA
8,467 (66) MO
15,202
(271) AR
1,294
(13) LA
333
(4) MS
2,622
(68) AL
1,121
(45) GA
4,301
(78) FL
3,717
(143) SC
368 (9) TN WV
53(4) OH
3,153
(125) IN
1,795
(59) IL
10,766
(181) KY
774(19) MI
10,207
(191) NY
3,990 (146) PA
16,022 (390) NC
4,727 (161) VA
5,082 (211) ME
383
(14) WI
804
(21)
1,509 (33) VT
724(45) NH
118 (11) MA
1,613 (51) RI
566 (10) CT
4,367 (88) NJ
2,348 (117) DE
191 (16) MD
7,113 (416) DC
2,164 (48)
0.1% or more
0.04%-0.099%
0.025%-0.039%
0.01%-0.024%
Less than 0.01%
Percentage OF
Population Trained
GUAM
37 (1) HI
73 (3) PR
282 (2)
Reported through June 2014

11. Audiences 12,600 Courses (through April 2014)
31.4% General Community/Not Specified
24.7% Behavioral Health
15.9% Higher Education
7.0% Social Services
6.9% Primary Care
The course is appropriate for anyone 16 years and older who wants to learn more about mental illnesses.
The majority of courses are taught to a general community audience, which includes participants from across the community.
Specific audiences include…
6.7% Law Enforcement/Public Safety
5.6% Faith Communities
4.5% Youth-focused entities
0.6% Business/Corporations
2.2% Other

12. Evidence Mental Health First Aid….
…increases knowledge and understanding
…encourages people helping people
…supports people getting help
…decreases social distance
…increases mental wellness
Brief Background: program developed in Australia in Adapted for and managed in the US by National Council for Behavioral Health, Maryland Department of Mental Hygiene, and Missouri Department of Mental Health.
Mental Health First Aid is listed in SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence Based programs and Practices
Published, peer reviewed studies about the course show that people who get trained in mental health first aid increase their knowledge of signs, symptoms and risk factors of mental illnesses and addictions; can identify multiple types of professional and self-help resources for individuals with a mental illness or addiction; increase their confidence in and likelihood to help an individual in distress; and even exhibit increased mental wellness themselves. Studies also show that the program reduces the social distance created by negative attitudes and perceptions of individuals with mental illnesses.

13. MHFA Public Policy
MHFA in President Obama’s Report: Recommendations from the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
Make Sure Students and Young Adults Get Treatment for Mental Health Issues: Three quarters of mental illnesses appear by the age of 24, yet less than half of children with diagnosable mental health problems receive treatment. To increase access to mental health services for young people, we should:
Provide “Mental Health First Aid” training to help teachers and staff recognize signs of mental illness in young people and refer them to treatment.
Support young adults ages 16 to 25, who have the highest rates of mental illness but are the least likely to seek help, by giving incentives to help states develop innovative approaches.
Help break the cycle of violence in schools facing pervasive violence with a new, targeted initiative to provide their students with needed services like counseling.
Train 5,000 more social workers, counselors, and psychologists, with a focus on those serving students and young adults.

14. MHFA Public Policy
April 19, 2013: US Senate passed Harkin/Alexander MH Amendment (vote of 95-2) – which included authorization for mental health awareness training grant program at SAMHSA (modeled after Mental Health First Aid)
Mental Health First Aid Act 2013 (H.R. 274) (S.153) (HB 3763):
In a statement on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Reid expressed his commitment to allowing votes on a number of additional amendments, including Senator Stabenow’s, that did not receive a vote
State Legislative Action: Arizona, Virginia, Texas, Washington, Illinois, Michigan, Florida, California, Maryland
Toolkit for State Legislative Options

15. Mental Health First Aid in the News
January 8, 2014 | by Jennie Grabel What has changed since Jan. 8, 2011, in Tucson and beyond? January 2, 2014 | by Patrick Skahill A "First-Aid" Response to Mental Illness December 27, 2013 | by Kathleen Megan After Newtown, Building A Stronger System Of Mental Health Services October 13, 2013 | by T. Rees Shapiro Mental Health Program Helps Fairfax County Teens Cope March 12, 2012 | by Kim Painter Classes Teach ‘First Aid' for Mental Health Crises October 18, 2011 | For Your Health
NEWS QUOTE RESOURCES

16. Workplace Impact of Mental Illness
Major Depressive Disorder is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15-44
An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults —suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year
Serious mental illnesses (SMIs), which afflict about 6% of American adults, cost society $193.2 billion a year in lost earnings
Behavioral health issues cause 217 million missed workdays annually
Depression was identified as the most costly health condition among a group of 10 large employers when combining costs from medical, pharmacy, absenteeism, and presenteeism
(Source: Disability Management Employer Coalition Report)

17. MHFA: Benefits MHFA creates proven results
MHFA is relevant for many different populations and places including school, community, workplace and home
MHFA is low cost and sustainable
MHFA supports workplace wellness
MHFA as an expression of Corporate Social Responsibility
MHFA as a key national resource for EAP programs and HR professionals

18. Sample of Mental Health First Aid

19. STIGMA
Stigma is a cluster of negative attitudes and beliefs that motivate the general public to fear, reject, avoid and discriminate against people with mental illnesses and develop mental disabilities
Understand ethnically and racially diverse populations may especially be a target
Understand that diverse populations may also frequently hold stigmatizing attitudes about mental illness and the shame, mistrust and discrimination that may accompany incidences of stigma.
(1 in 5 overcoming the stigma of mental illness-Courtesy of Saginaw County
Community Mental Health Authority-Saginaw, Michigan)

20. How to Help Learn and Share (MHFA, ASIST, Safe Talk)
Treat people with mental illness with respect and dignity
Avoid labeling: terms like crazy, psycho, loony, etc.
Support people by assisting them with community resources available
Respect the rights of others
Educate others about mental illness and substance abuse disorders

21. Mental Health First Aid Movie- ALGEE
Movie showing how to put ALGEE into practice

22. What people are saying…
N.Y.U. has also added a mental health first aid training course. Employees who work in campus hot spots learn to identify mental illness symptoms as well as how to defuse a tense situation until help arrives. A hot spot is any place prone to frustrate, including the financial aid office, the bursar’s office, and the registrar’s office.
Attend a traditional first aid class, and you will learn checklists for assessing and responding to cuts, burns and strokes. [In Mental Health First Aid] students consider how they would respond to…a stranger having a panic attack, a friend expressing hopelessness, or a client distressed over an illness.
NEWS QUOTE TEMPLATE
March 12, 2012
January 23, 2011

23. What people are saying…
March 12, 2012
Attend a traditional first aid class, and you will learn checklists for assessing and responding to cuts, burns and strokes. [In Mental Health First Aid] students consider how they would respond to someone who is apparently having a discussion with someone who is not there, a stranger having a panic attack, a friend expressing hopelessness, or a client distressed over an illness.
ALTERNATE NEWS QUOTE TEMPLATE

24. QUESTIONS?

25. Suzette Sova Shaikh MA, LPC
Take a Course. You could be the help someone needs.
Contact:
Ann MacLeod, LPC-S, NCC
Suzette Sova Shaikh MA, LPC