1 in 5 adults in the United States lives with a mental illness.  Mental Health First Aid teaches participants how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among adults.   The curriculum includes; common signs and symptoms of mental health challenges, common signs and symptoms of substance use challenges, how to interact with a person in crisis, how to connect a person with help, and expanded content on trauma, substance use and self-care.

As a trained instructor in the Adult Mental Health First Aid curriculum, FCS Agent Tiffany Bolinger has completed five trainings in last year, with a total of 136 participants trained.

From the 136 people trained, 94 completed evaluations. Upon completion of the training, evaluations showed:

97% reported that the MHFA course was either: helpful and informative OR has better prepared them for the work that they do professionally. 

Exemplary quotes included:

“I believe the most helpful part of the course was practicing asking someone if they were considering death by suicide to reduce the uncomfortableness of asking when it’s important to do so.” 

“Identifying specific resources and procedures to assist a person effectively through a mental health issue or crisis.” 

“As an academic interventionalist who most often makes contact with individuals experiencing a deterrence of goals, the most helpful part of the course was the suicide prevention training. This session was of particular value to me because it articulated the proper ways to respond when a student (or anyone) feels that the only solution to his or her current plight is to no longer exist. The methods demonstrated by the instructors provided a clear avenue of direction for handling a student in such a state of mind.” 

“Learning it is okay to ask someone if they are thinking about suicide. It could actually save their life.” 

“For me, I think it was learning that I need to take care of myself more. Life throws a lot of curveballs, and you should always make time for yourself.” 

“The most helpful part of the course was seeing the resources in action, watching the scenarios and reinforcement of the techniques utilized.” 

“Self-care. It is so important to remember to take care of yourself and have a plan in place for your own care, especially when you are a person that focuses the majority of their time on helping others.”