by Laura Marlatt
When we mention first aid, what typically comes to mind is CPR, broken limbs or lacerations. Many of us have taken a first aid course at some time in our lives and may have first aid kits at home or in our cars. If an emergency occurred and someone needed medical assistance, we would be prepared to do so with our basic first aid skills. However, when it comes to mental health issues, we often feel uncomfortable and unprepared to assist if someone is in crisis. Unfortunately, we probably all are affected by mental health issues in some fashion. Anyone can have mental health issues – a family member, friend, co-worker, church member, a neighbor.
To help combat the stigma attached to mental health issues, facilitators from Kalamazoo Community Mental Health hosted an eight-hour Mental Health First Aid training on October 3. A large number of KPEP staff, along with several parole and probation agents, attended the training. The goal of the training was to provide a basic definition of mental health, educate on common mental health problems and learn how to develop a mental health first aid action plan to address different mental health problems.
Too often we wrongly associate mental health issues or problems with someone who cannot function in society, but we learned that frequently people with mental disorders and mental health problems can lead productive lives with the proper help.
During the training we learned the difference between a suicide attempt and non-suicidal self-injury. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, traumatic events, and panic attacks as well as psychosis and substance use disorders were discussed. Role-plays were used to help us understand some of the symptoms of disorders.
Of particular interest was the role-play used to simulate what a person with psychosis experiences in hearing voices while trying to interact with others. Though the role-play only lasted a short time, it was difficult to stay focused on simple conversations. In addition, the group was given a list of physical and mental health disorders and asked to rank them in order of which ones we believed had the greatest to the least impact on daily life for the person experiencing the disorders. It was interesting to find out which we had guessed correctly and which we had wrong.
A-L-G-E-E was the theme throughout the training, which is a mnemonic used for the action plan. It is not enough to recognize a person has a mental health issue. We need to be able to develop a plan with them to get the help they need. By the end we were all able to recite the parts to the action plan. “A” for assess for risk of suicide or harm; “L” for listening non-judgmentally; “G” for giving reassurance and information; “E” for encouraging professional help; and “E” for encouraging self-help and other support strategies. Break-out sessions were utilized to process different scenarios and develop action plans for each one from the perspective of a family member, co-worker, and supervisor. As pointed out repeatedly, anyone can work with someone who has mental health needs in developing an action plan.
While working with a professional can be an important part of the recovery process for people with mental disorders, we often undervalue what we can do to help someone in need of assistance. Rachel Naomi Remen, Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, said it best in her quote: “The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen, just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention … a loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words.”