Youth Mental Health First Aid: How WHS Is Helping Children to be Victors!
First aid saves lives…and one question and an action plan can too!
Wolverine Human Services is joining the international wave to help citizens, parents, workers, family, friends, and community members recognize and respond to people struggling with mental health challenges and to decrease unhealthy stigma.
Youth Mental Health First Aid is quickly growing!
National: Spreading rapidly in 20 countries by October 2014…
United States: Already 280,000 Mental Health First Aiders trained by over 5900 certified trainers, and still growing in Oct. 2014…
Michigan: Over 15,042 Michiganders trained as Mental Health First Aiders by 207 certified trainers in Oct. 2014…now 209 and counting!
Wolverine Human Services: WHS just added 2 certified trainers within our agency to teach Youth Mental Health First Aid. WHS has a commitment to train all of our agency personnel as Youth Mental Health First Aiders in 2015!
Youth Mental Health First Aiders are trained:
- To know the risk factors and warning signs of mental health concerns in Young People.
- Learn an overview of depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis, eating disorders, and substance use challenges in Young People
- Have a 5-step action plan to help a Young Person developing a mental health concern or in crisis.
- Are provided available evidence-based professional, peer, and self-help resources.
WHS has worked with young people across the State of Michigan for decades and plans to continue as a leader in quality treatment services for youth in decades to come. The young clients we serve are among the most amazing young people in State and Nation. The resilience, courage and yearning for quality and hope are incomparable. The challenges, obstacles, and traumas faced by many of our young people are often unimaginable and lie just beneath the surface.
Wolverine Human Services is committed to ensuring that our personnel are trauma-informed and have special training in identifying mental health challenges young people face. We encourage and support our personnel in being Victors for youth; not only while at work but in all of our roles in life involving young people.
(Hey WHS Staff! We are looking forward to meeting all of you in person over the next year. It’s a fun and highly informative training. Trust us! Your friendly WHS trainers—Monica and Katrina)
Please learn more about this amazing and important program and its origins, developers and supporters:
http://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org
http://www.thenationalcouncil.org
Katrina Brock, LMSW, CAADC, CCS, is Director of Clinical & Quality Services at Wolverine Human Services. Katrina has over 16 years of direct clinical as well as administrative experience. She leads WHS’ Quality & Performance Improvement Department and is the agency lead consultant for accreditation with the Council on Accreditation. She is very proud of WHS’ new programs and evidence-based practice initiatives. On the side, Katrina enjoys doing outpatient therapy directly with clients and working with diverse populations of clients.