Upcoming Trainings

Mental Health Awareness Trainings

A young man and woman sit on stairs having a conversation about substance use treatment.

Illume: The Behavioral Health Center of Excellence offers free evidence-based trainings that will focus on identifying and responding to signs of mental illness and/or suicidality, and using compassionate listening, de-escalation, and referral skills. We will also be able to offer follow-up availability to support you as you start implementing this learning. These are all effective interventions for non-mental health professionals and community members at large. This includes teachers and school personnel, caregivers of youth with SED (Serious Emotional Disturbance), faith-based social service organizations, criminal justice system workers, first responders, and homeless service providers.

This project was supported by Grant Number 1H79SM084448-01 from SAMHSA. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the SAMHSA.

Get set up for our Next Available Training!

These MHFA trainings include 2 hours of required pre-work, that must be completed before the training.

Training Information

Click on each of these trainings to find out more about them.

Mental Health First Aid - Adult

Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.  This training focuses on ages 18 and older. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use. Topics covered in this training include anxiety, depression, psychosis, and addictions.

Youth Mental Health First Aid

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) is directed towards identifying the signs and symptoms of mental illness in adolescents. Adolescence and early adulthood are developmental stages that are associated with greater risk of the onset of mental illness. Help-seeking behaviors among this group are often lower compared to adults.

Preliminary evidence suggests the effectiveness of delivering YMHFA in school settings and finds YMHFA associated with improvements in trainees being able to recognize when to assess for suicidality, how to listen non-judgmentally, and refer young people to professional help.

Question, Persuade, Refer

QPR stands for Question, Persuade and Refer. QPR teaches individuals to recognize warning signs, question suicidal intent, listen to problems, and refer to appropriate professional health.

Furthermore, a recent study found positive long-term effects in QPR training related to knowledge, self-efficacy, and help-giving behaviors.

Mental Health First Aid - Older Adults

Older adults have high rates of late-onset mental health challenges, like anxiety and depression, and low rates of identification and treatment. Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use. This course will give you the confidence to have the conversations that will allow older adults to live as comfortably as possible.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Are Your Trainings?

Mental Health First Aid trainings are full-day trainings.

Both Adult Mental Health First Aid trainings & Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings have 2 hours of self-paced pre-work, that must be completed at least one business day prior to the training. If you did not complete your pre-work, you will not be able to join the Mental Health First Aid training. 

Instructor-led sessions for Mental Health First Aid is 8-hours in total, including breaks in the morning and afternoon, as well as a 1-hour break for lunch. This training starts at 9:00 am Central Standard Time.

 

Our Suicide Prevention Training, QPR, is 2 hours long.

What does pre-work consist of?

For both Adult Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid there is pre-work.

Pre-work covers roughly 2 hours of video, readings and knowledge checks. This will help prepare learners for their course. This does not need to be completed in one sitting. You can complete the pre-work in multiple sittings.

There are 9 Modules in MHFA Connect system that you will need to complete before the training. Once the pre-work is completed, it will show up on your Connect Course Bar as 69% completed.

 

What if I need to leave in the Middle of the Training?

In order to receive credit for Mental Health First Aid training, you must have missed less than 30 minutes of the total training/instructor-led session.

Also note, Mental Health First Aid learners will get breaks throughout the day, including a 1-hour break for lunch.

Can A Group of Us Log into Watch a MHFA training Together?

No, for virtual Mental Health First Aid trainings, learners must each be logged into individual devices due to activities such as breakout groups, etc.

What is required for your virtual trainings?

We have both in-person versions and virtual versions of Adult Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid.

The virtual versions of the trainings are designed to be as interactive as the in-person training. The virtual training needs participants to have camera, audio and will ask participants to be interactive in their chats throughout the training. This is because this training includes small group discussions, large class discussions, and screen shares that ask for annotations/comments.
Consistent communication and individual participation from learners are important and required.

Additional Resources

Questions?

Call 314-535-5600 / Ext. 275

These trainings can be provided virtually, onsite at partner agencies, or in the training center within Places for People. Have any questions or want to sign up your organization for a training? Reach out to us!