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Plainville Wheeler Clinic to offer mental health training

The Bristol Press - 2/15/2017

The words 'emergency response' usually drum up visions of natural disasters, fires and car crashes, cued to the sound of a blaring siren. Local mental health professionals are now offering response training for a different kind of emergency.

Nationally-recognized Mental Health First Aid harnesses a set of skills that can prove crucial when assisting another person through a crisis, panic attack or other psychological emergency. Several area agencies are currently offering this course throughout the region.

Wheeler Clinic in Plainville offers the certification at its Center for Prevention, Wellness and Recovery, through Connecticut Clearinghouse. Center Vice President Judith Stonger hopes to raise awareness about the importance of this preparation.

"We hope that mental health first aid training will be as common as traditional first aid and CPR sometime soon," Stonger said. "People are actually are more likely to encounter someone who is having thoughts of suicide or a mental health challenge than a heart attack."

Staff recommend this certification to health care professionals, police and fire officials, corrections officers, public transportation providers, policymakers, volunteers, nurses, educators, employers, business leaders and human resources professionals. It originated in Australia and curriculum was adopted by the National Council of Behavioral Health in the U.S. Currently over 780,000 people are trained in the United States and more than 13,000 in Connecticut alone.

"We're hoping to reach a million people soon," Stonger said.

Curriculum is guided by the five-step action plan ALGEE - Assess for risk of suicide or harm, Listen non-judgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage appropriate professional help and Encourage self-help and other support strategies. This plan is used to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness.

"We know in general it's about a 10-year gap between someone having the onset of a challenge and getting help," Stonger pointed out. "The sooner individuals get help the better their long-term prognosis will be. Hopefully by opening up the conversation and reducing stigma we can reduce this gap so people can get help sooner."

Stigma is perhaps the most common roadblock between suffering and wellness. Not only does it prevent people from seeking help, but it keeps others at a distance.

"If someone has a physical ailment or injury friends and family will come by and support them, but often when a family member has a mental health challenge people stay away," Stonger explained. "Oftentimes people do want to help someone but they don't know what to do. They might not act because they're afraid to make things worse."

According to the council, mental illness disorders are much more common than people think. One in five American adults is suffering and mental illnesses are the leading cause of disability worldwide.

The training arms participants with resources to share with those suffering from psychiatric disorders. They will see an interactive presentation, review risk factors and their prevalence; learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms as well as how to de-escalate difficult situations.

Visit ctclearinghouse.org for an updated schedule of courses coming later this year.

Erica Schmitt can be reached at 860-801-5097, or eschmitt@centralctcommunications.com.