Mental Health First Aid
What Is Mental Health First Aid?
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a revolutionary public education program designed to create safety for those living with mental illness by providing lifesaving intervention training to everyone and anyone. Similar to First Aid, MHFA trains participants to offer practical help to anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, until professional support is available.
The Program
MFHA training offers a practical 5-step strategy for responding to signs and symptoms of common mental health disorders, along with focused self-help strategies. These include assessing for risk of harm, listening without judgement, providing reassurance, and connecting people to professional or self-help resources.
MHFA training engages participants in hands-on activities that simulate real-life challenges, providing a greater understanding of how mental illness impacts individuals and families.
Who Is It For?
Mental Health First Aiders are teachers, first responders and veterans. They’re neighbors, parents and friends. They’re people in recovery, and those supporting a loved one They’re First Ladies and Mayors. Mental Health First Aiders are anyone who wants to make their community healthier, happier and safer for all. Mental Health First Aid is for anyone – and everyone.
QPR — Question, Persuade, and Refer
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Our goal in providing QPR training is to teach people to recognize the warning signs of suicide and know what to do: question, persuade, and refer the person to help.
QPR can be learned in our Gatekeeper course in as little as one hour and potentially help save the life of an in-crisis friend, colleague, sibling, or neighbor. To schedule a training or to request information, contact Jonathan Greer, Director of Mentoring & Prevention at Red Oak.
Parent University
The Parent University presents a collection of in-person and virtual workshops designed to provide parents with a space to learn, share, grow, and engage with other parents. By partnering with area organizations and agencies, local experts offer relevant and practical skill training meant to offer assistance with the ever-changing needs of parenting. Additionally, Parent University relies on the knowledge and experience of parents from the community to educate, equip, and empower one another, and to work toward wellness as individuals and families.
- Monthly topics of interest
- A supportive network of parents
- Family activities to build and strengthen family connections
- Shared family meal
- Programming to support the social and emotional needs of their children
For more information contact Ayme McCain, Director of Prevention at amccain@redoakbh.org or Kelli Law at klaw@redoakbh.org.
Active Parenting
Active Parenting teaches parents the importance of raising empowered and resilient children, who will then be less vulnerable to the peer pressures to make unhealthy life choices. This program helps parents improve relationships with their children, develop new parenting skills, and identify effective techniques for navigating family transitions. Upon completion of the program participants receive a certificate acknowledging they have completed a parenting program.
For more information about enrolling in this program or bringing this program to your school, community or organization contact Ayme McCain, Director of Prevention at amccain@redoakbh.org or Kelli Law, Parent Programming Coordinator at klaw@redoakbh.org.
Trauma-Informed Training
Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is an approach in the human service field that assumes that an individual is more likely than not to have a history of trauma. Trauma-Informed Care recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role trauma may play in an individual’s life.
TIC is a shift from “What’s wrong with this person” to “What happened to this person”
We cover the different types of trauma, define Trauma-Informed Care, and discuss Adverse Childhood Experiences in detail as well as how to build resilience, improve self-care and restore balance.
Training content includes:
- Definition of and types of trauma
- Definition of Trauma-Informed Care
- 6 Principles of TIC
- Signs of Trauma in adults and children
- Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Types of stress that play into behavior and response
- Building a climate of safety
- Secondary Traumatic Stress
- Self regulation
- Building resilience
Contact Us
Are you interested in learning more about trainings or registering for one of our programs? Call us at (330) 996-4600.
We’re Ready to Listen
At Red Oak, it is safe to share your story.
We believe in you, and join you on your journey to heal and grow.
