Mental Health First Aid is offered in the form of an interactive 12-hour course that presents an overview of mental illness and substance use disorders in the U.S. and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments. Those who take the 12-hour course to certify as Mental Health First Aiders learn a 5-step action plan encompassing the skills, resources and knowledge to help an individual in crisis connect with appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care.

The 12-hour Mental Health First Aid USA course has benefited a variety of audiences and key professions, including: primary care professionals, employers and business leaders, faith communities, school personnel and educators, state police and corrections officers, nursing home staff, mental health authorities, state policymakers, volunteers, young people, families and the general public. See how you can get involved — find a 12-hour Mental Health First Aid course near you or learn how you can become a certified instructor to teach the 12-hour course in your community.

Statement from Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare

Washington, DC (Jan 11, 2011) ”We want to express our heartfelt sympathies to Rep. Giffords, her staff, and the citizens of Arizona who were killed or injured in the senseless tragedy on January 8.

While much has been made about the mental state of the accused killer, no one yet knows what drove the young man to engage in such a violent act. Even so, it should be stressed that a person with a mental health condition is no more likely to be violent than any other person.

Often after incidents like this, people who knew the accused ask themselves what they could have done to prevent the tragedy. No one knows what, if anything, could have been done to change the course of events, but now there is a way for people to take action and possibly prevent such tragedies from happening.

Mental Health First Aid is a novel, evidence-based public education program that teaches average people how to assess a situation, select and implement appropriate interventions, and help a person in crisis or developing the signs and symptoms of mental illness. This groundbreaking training equips people to provide initial help until appropriate professional, peer, or family support can be engaged. Participants also learn about the risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, and addiction.Â

The training has also done much to expand people’s knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatments, and reduce the stigma associated with mental illness by helping people understand and accept mental illness as a medical condition. Trainings are offered around the country visit www.MentalHeatlhFirstAid.org for dates and locations.

We also know that after highly publicized tragedies like this, people may be seeking mental health counseling. We suggest they use the Find the Provider search tool atwww.TheNationalCouncil.org.

We, of course, understand that no amount of training can guarantee these horrific acts won’t recur, but we do encourage people get trained and be better informed in the hope that they may be able to help and intervene early.

The National Council is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) association of 1,800 community healthcare organizations that provide treatment and rehabilitation for mental illnesses and addictions disorders to nearly eight million adults, children and families in communities across the country. Learn more at www.TheNationalCouncil.org.

With one in every four adult in America [i.e. 57 .7 million people] suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year, a lot of emphasis has been on treatment of mental disorders.  Growing evidence from the neuroscience and early childhood development research has shown that basic brain architecture, which develops before birth and rapidly during the first six years of a child form the critical foundation for cognitive, emotional, and social capacities necessary for adults to build the complex skills they need to become emotionally healthy and successfully employed, lawful, cooperative and productive[1]. Also, attachment, especially maternal attachment, is proven to be an important marker for positive social and emotional development, while lack of maternal attachment has negative impact on children’s brain development and social-emotional health.

In light of this evidence, Office of Behavioral Health in the Satcher Health Leadership Institute is focusing on the prevention of mental illness by promoting early socio-emotional health and brain development of children 0-8 years old.  Please visit our website at www.shli@msm and click on behavioral health to see how we are: [1] improving education programs for parents and child/early care providers on early brain development and social emotional health of children 0-8 years [2] reducing stigma associated with mental illness [3] increasing access to mental health services by educating pediatric healthcare providers about integrating mental health into primary care, and [4] improving the reading readiness of children 0-8 years to prepare them for the 3^rd Grade Level Reading. Join us at “letustalkabouit.com” to make a difference in our future by appropriately investing in early development of children’s brain, emotions, resiliency and healthy behaviors.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine has entered into a partnership with Georgia State Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and Kaiser Permanente Foundation to develop policies and best practices to improve behavioral health services for Georgians.

The partnership will also result in two psychiatrists being placed at Grady Hospital Emergency Department (ED) to provide appropriate interventions for patients presenting at the ED with mental illness. In addition, the partnership would work with 10 primary care sites to integrate mental health into their primary care practices, thus improving access to both primary and mental health care services in the community.

This partnership can be used as a model to further advance the transformation of behavioral healthcare delivery system by integrating mental health and primary care at ED and primary care practices to improve early intervention and access to quality of care for people with mental illnesses, particularly those with schizophrenia and other Severe and Persistent Mental Illness the way we provide care to Georgians throughout the state.

I am pleased to present you with information about the Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI) at Morehouse School of Medicine. I would like to invite you to explore the many exciting opportunities that we plan to offer fellows, scholars, individuals, groups, organizations and executives.

The mission of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute is to develop a diverse group of public health leaders, foster and support leadership strategies, and influence policies toward the reduction and ultimate elimination of disparities in health. I have had many opportunities to lead during my career in academia, in government and on boards of corporations and nonprofits. I hope to share some of what I have learned and to point to lessons from others.

These web pages include information on ;the SHLI organizational strategy and how we hope to realize our vision, and accomplish our mission and goals. As you become better acquainted with our institute and staff, I hope you will think of ways you can partner with us as we move toward sustainability.

There’s a need for the development of leaders who will address the many issues related to healthcare access, delivery, and health promotion, all of which are pivotal to the elimination of health disparities.

If you would like more information about the Satcher Health Leadership Institute, please e-mail Deborah B. Jones at dejones@msm.edu.

Sincerely,
David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.

The inaugural fellows each selected a social media product and produced work to support their hypothesis on how the tool could best be utilized to impact the mental health condition. Their findings and work product were facinating and can be seen by clicking the hyperlink below.

This program is administered through Morehouse School of Medicine Masters in Public Health Summer Fellowship

Click here to view the complete summer fellowship project

In light of this evidence, Office of Behavioral Health in the Satcher Health Leadership Institute is focusing on the prevention of mental illness by promoting early socio-emotional health and brain development of children 0-8 years old. Please visit our website at www.satcherinstitute.info and click on behavioral health to see how we are: [1] improving education programs for parents and child/early care providers on early brain development and social emotional health of children 0-8 years [2] reducing stigma associated with mental illness [3] increasing access to mental health services by educating pediatric healthcare providers about integrating mental health into primary care, and [4] improving the reading readiness of children 0-8 years to prepare them for the 3^rd Grade Level Reading. Join us at letustalkabouit.org to make a difference in our future by appropriately investing in early development of children’s brain, emotions, resiliency and healthy behaviors.