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Classes to focus on suicide prevention, youth mental health

Moultrie Observer (GA) - 1/27/2015

Jan. 27--MOULTRIE -- Moultrie's chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will host two training courses next week to help people deal with a person in a mental health crisis.

One class, called QPR training, focuses on response to the warning signs of suicide. It will be held both Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 2 and 3, with three sessions each day -- 8:30-10:30 a.m., 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-4 p.m. -- at the Colquitt County Agricultural Complex Auditorium. Attendees can choose any one session and an alternate in case their first choice is full.

The other focuses on reacting to a young person with a mental issue. It is targeted toward teachers, parents and others who work with youth. It will be held 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at Colquitt Regional Medical Center Educational Services building.

Both classes are free but require registration. Contact Lynn Wilson at lynnbw45@gmail.com with your name, agency affiliation (if any), telephone number and email address, and include which class you want to register for, as well as your choices of session if registering for the suicide prevention training.

QPR training -- which stands for Question, Persuade and Refer -- will teach simple steps anyone can learn to save a life from suicide. It's being offered in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Division of Mental Health, Suicide Prevention.

The two-hour class teaches participants to recognize the warning signs of suicide, to know how to give hope, and to know how to get help and save a life. Each session includes practice and discussion.

Sally vander Straeten, suicide prevention coordinator, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, will provide the instruction. Schools, DFCS, older adult agencies, and faith communities are especially encouraged to attend. The general public is welcome as well.

More information on the QPR program is available at http://www.qprinstitute.com.

Youth Mental Health First Ad training is being offered in collaboration with the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network.

It is an eight-hour public education program that introduces participants to the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in adolescents, builds understanding of the importance of early intervention, and teaches individuals how to help an adolescent who is in crisis or is experiencing a mental health challenge. The course uses role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to assess a mental health crisis, select interventions and provide initial help, and connect young people to professional, peer, social, and self-help care.

Participants will learn to identify the risk factors and warning signs of a variety of mental health challenges common among adolescents, including anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, AD/HD, disruptive behavior disorders, and substance use disorder. Participants do not learn to diagnose nor how to provide any therapy or counseling -- rather, participants learn to support a youth developing signs and symptoms of a mental illness or in an emotional crisis.

Mental Health First Aid USA worked with experts at the National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development to develop the youth program.

To learn more about Mental Health First Aid USA visit www.MentalHealthFirstAid.org.

Lunch is included with the Youth Mental Health First Aid course. Attendance for the full day is required for certification.

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(c)2015 The Moultrie Observer (Moultrie, Ga.)

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