Durham Mental Health Services recently hosted a session of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), one of four sessions of this workshop that DMHS hosts each year.

Sponsored by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and developed in Australia, Mental Health First Aid teaches participants how to respond to a person experiencing a mental health crisis.

During twelve hours of content, participants learn to assess for risk of suicide and/or harm, to listen non-judgmentally, to give reassurance and information, and to link to professional, family or community supports.

Brand new this year is a version of MHFA tailored to the needs of adults who live or work with youth who experience mental health problems. The basic course covers mood disorders, substance use disorders, anxiety disorders and psychotic disorders. The new youth course covers those topics as they relate to youth, but it also addresses eating disorders and self-injury.

“What I love about this course,” says MHFA instructor and DMHS Peer Support Specialist Lisa Scuse, “is that by the end there is now a new group of people who can comfortably and confidentally approach someone experiencing a mental health problem, instead of turning their back.”

For more information about MHFA, including upcoming dates and how to register, please contact DMHS Peer Support Specialist Lisa Scuse at lscuse@dmhs.ca or 905-666-0831, ext. 3227.