10 minute read
Mental Health First Aid Solution
Delivered by National Association of Counties & National Council for Mental Wellbeing
By Brandon Natsuhara, National Program Director of Technology Partnerships, NACo FSC
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The National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing have established a new partnership to make Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training available to county employees across the country. MHFA is a skills-based training course that teaches participants to identify, understand and respond to mental health and substance use challenges in their peers, friends and colleagues.
While one in five adults in the U.S. report living with a mental health challenge, only 10 percent of employees feel their workplace is free of stigmas about mental health. With counties employing 3.6 million workers, or 1 percent of the U.S. population, MHFA training will help county workers assist during a crisis or until professional treatment is obtained.
“Most of us know how to help if we see someone having a heart attack — we’d start CPR, or at the very least, call 911. But too few know how to respond if we see someone having a panic attack or if we are concerned that a family member, friend or coworker might be showing signs of mental health and substance use challenges,” said NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase. “Mental Health First Aid training will provide tools to county employees to intervene appropriately in a mental health crisis.”
An enterprise-level approach to mental health awareness and training can improve early recognition and encourage help-seeking, enhancing utilization of timely and appropriate support, and perhaps limit the impact mental health issues can have on the work environment. Many county and local governments have used MHFA at Work to build cultures of caring and resilience.
This new partnership will support elected officials and county staff with their own mental health and well-being needs, as well as create a framework to destigmatize mental health and substance use challenges as they provide community residents with more equitable access to quality mental health and substance use treatment services. Learn more at www.naco. org/MHFA.
Mental Health First Aid (“MHFA”) at Work: General Awareness Training
MHFA at Work is a high impact, skills-based training program that teaches employees how to offer help to a person who may be developing or is suffering from a mental health concern or crisis. Employees learn how to act in the same way they would when they see someone having a physical/medical problem or emergency. Similar to physical First Aid training, employees gain the skill and confidence to provide direct assistance and support to a person in need. When necessary, employees learn how to reach out for emergency services on the other’s behalf.
Focus on recognizing the patterns of thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and appearance that show there might be a challenge rather than on a specific disorder.
Participants learn the MHFA Action Plan and how to apply to non-crisis and crisis situations. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
• Describe the purpose and role of Mental Health First Aid
• Identify the impact of mental health challenges and recovery on the well-being of adults in the workplace
• Describe the principles of workplace safety and privacy
• Recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health challenges and how they impact the workplace
• Explain and practice the 5 steps of the Mental Health First
Aid Action Plan, and
• Discuss appropriate methods of self-care for individuals in the workplace.
DEPARTMENTS
• Transportation & infrastructure
• Public Safety
• Human Safety
• Community Health
• Call center staff
ROLES AND TITLES
• Human resources and benefits partners
• Senior leaders and front- line managers
• Clinical and wellness staff
• Call center staff
2021 Training Outcomes
(N=3,898 RESPONDENTS)
Mental Health Essentials
Mental Health Essentials Seminars provide a high-level introduction to workplace well-being and reinforce the principles of MHFA to foster peer support and engagement. The session includes information on best practices in the workplace and guidance on how to support each other and ourselves during this crisis, with a focus on the impact of trauma, the importance of team engagement, self-care, and mindfulness.
The seminar is designed to meet the following learning objectives:
1. Define and increase our awareness of mental wellness, mental illness and recovery. 3. Explore strategies to help reduce stigma, build resiliency, and make wellness a priority so we can move forward together.
Mental Health Essentials is designed for the entire workforce and can be delivered to small and large groups of employees
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New York Power Authority................................... 39 New York Power Authority................................... 51 NYS Association for Infant Mental Health.......... 37
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Committed to the Community
Madison County Mental Health Task Force
By Samantha Field, Madison County Public Information Officer
and Teisha Cook, Madison County Director of Community Mental Health Services
Ayear ago, in April of 2021, Madison County Board Chairman John M. Becker created the Mental Health Task Force to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and well-being of the community. Although behavioral health issues were present prior to the pandemic, the pandemic experience heightened the need for programs and services to address these issues in the Madison County community.
Madison County operates an outpatient mental health clinic, and during the pandemic the number of individuals seeking services increased dramatically. Prior to the pandemic, the county clinic served approximately 850 clients at any given time; currently, the clinic is serving nearly 1,500 clients. It was the increase in the utilization of services that led, in part, to the creation of the Mental Health Task Force.
The Madison County Mental Health Task Force is comprised of:
Chairman of the Board John M. Becker
County Administrator Mark Scimone
Vice-Chairman of the Board Clifford Moses
Director Office of Emergency Management Dan Degear
Director of Community Mental Health Services Teisha Cook
Public Health Director Eric Faisst
Commissioner of DSS Michael Fitzgerald
The Task Force retained the services of Mat Roosa, LCSW-R to assist the county in the process of developing a needs assessment, and implementing projects related to the assessment. Roosa has expressed his appreciation of Madison County’s effort, stating, "I have been impressed by the level of executive support for mental health and wellness in Madison County. The leadership is actively engaged in support of a number of best practice implementation efforts." There have been several phases of the needs assessment over the course of the last year. The first phase involved surveying many key stakeholders and groups in the community. These included: teachers, students and school district staff, senior citizens, faith-based communities and other Madison County residents. The survey was distributed broadly to try to obtain the most feedback possible from county residents.
From these assessment surveys emerged a bigger picture of what the community identified as their struggles and needs. Key themes arose and responses reinforced some common understandings of the needs of the community. Students, parents, and teachers all reported a significant increase in stress experienced by students and a need for additional mental health and well-being supports. Populations with limited access to services, such as seniors with mobility issues and individuals in rural regions of the county reported a desire for enhanced
ways to access supports. In addition, social determinants of health such as social connections, income and natural supports have all shown a significant impact on mental wellbeing.
Several project areas have been identified to address the needs identified.
Enhancing School based mental health/ wellness services and supports
Madison County has been meeting with each school district to assess their needs and to identify districts who may want a satellite county mental health clinic at their schools. These school-based satellite clinics are the first to be established in the county, and offer children services in their own school, where clinicians can collaborate with school staff, enhancing the overall service the child receives.
Working with Primary Care Physicians to provide resources and linkages to services. Wellness/ Mental Health related infrastructure projects
• Enhancing and promoting existing behavioral health crisis services
• Address low-income housing issues
• Enhancing broadband access across the county.
In addition to the County Mental Health Clinic, the department also works closely with law enforcement through the Crisis Intervention Team. The team is composed of various law enforcement officers from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Oneida City Police Department, the behavioral health agencies in the county, and other local agencies. The CIT training that law enforcement participate in gives them strategies to deal with individuals who are in crisis or need of support. The County Mental Health Department and the CIT officers work closely with the Mobile Crisis Team.
An offshoot of the CIT team is the Madison County 911 Diversion Program, which started about a year ago. Madison County 911 communicators are trained to ask a series of questions if someone is having a mental health crisis, and if certain criteria are met, the dispatcher can connect that individual to a county Mental Health clinician. Madison County 911 identified that individuals often just need to talk to someone and that sending the police, or an ambulance is not the best use of resources. Lastly, in December 2021, a new program was implemented with the Sheriff’s Office involving telehealth. When officers in the field meet an individual who needs clinical support, they use tablets to enable telehealth contact with the clinic case worker. This prevents the need for transportation to the county clinic or the hospital.
Madison County is committed to the well-being of our community. Our leadership and employees understand that to make our community even better, we need to dedicate the time and effort to connect those who need assistance with the correct resources. Those resources could range from monetary assistance, health care, behavioral health, or even to find out where is the best place to get a cheeseburger north of Route 20. Madison County Mental Health Task Force is working hard to make sure we have those resources, and the connections are made so the needs of our residents are met.
