Community Partnership of the Ozarks hosting mental health first aid class

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – The Community Partnership of the Ozarks is hosting a mental health first aid class to teach people how to handle mental health crises.
“Mental health first aid is a training for adults about helping identify the signs and symptoms of someone who may be experiencing a mental health challenge or a crisis, including thoughts of suicide,” said Chris Davis, Vice President of Prevention and Youth Support. “It teaches a five-step action plan on identifying those signs and symptoms, how to appropriately interact with such a person to not perpetuate stigma, how to provide them support and connect them to professional self-help or other resources as needed.”
The class is free thanks to grants from the state, and certified mental health first aid experts teach the curriculum. Around one in five people will be diagnosed with a mental illness every year, so it’s definitely relevant.
“Mental health first aid is actually identified as a mental health literacy training to help us understand what the myths versus the facts are related to mental health, what it is, what it’s not, address a lot of the myth related to mental health, and how people see how common these challenges are and that they should be supported,” said Davis.
Davis also says it helps people learn to recognize signs and symptoms of mental health crises earlier.
“If we have a physical health challenge, if we’re starting to have aches and pains, we’re having that checked out before it progresses into something more serious. So the same thing with mental health, if we can help identify those early warning signs and be able to redirect something that could potentially keep something from developing to to a disorder, or if it is at a disorder level, helping it identify resources to support that person sooner,” said Davis.
Davis says everyone will likely either experience a mental health issue or come into contact with someone who has a mental health issue at some point, so having these tools is helpful to address that. It destigmatizes the conversation around mental health.
“When someone is diagnosed with cancer, we rally around that person. Where I grew up, everybody made casseroles and support and so forth. When someone is diagnosed with depression, they don’t get a casserole. The more we can change that stigma and change that perception of support. Everybody should get a casserole,” said Davis.
If you’re interested, the class is free. CPO tends to offer them once a month. For more information, visit here.
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