This 4.5 hour course will train your team how to understand, recognize, and respond to the most common mental health challenges for youth such as Depression, Anxiety, Trauma, Eating Disorders, and Substance Use Disorders. Compare to Youth Mental Health First Aid which is 7 hours. Learn an easy to remember action plan to recognize when a youth is struggling and connect them to appropriate help.

✔ Learn basic warning signs to recognize when a young person may be struggling and how to prevent crisis by connecting them to help early.

✔ Gain practical tools such as the WARP tool to recognize when a youth may be experiencing a mental health challenge and when professional support may be needed.

✔ Learn how to provide support to a youth in crisis related to suicidal thoughts & behaviors, a panic attack, or response to a traumatic event.

✔ Practice powerful evidence based coping strategies to provide others as well as for your own mental wellbeing.

As we emerge from stressful & uncertain times on a historic level, a widening body of research is being released regarding its impact on youth. Prepandemic studies show one in three adolescents between 13 and 17 will suffer impairment in important areas of their lives due to an anxiety disorder. ​College students have had a 134% increase in anxiety since 2010 (American College Health Assoc.)  Sadly, only 20% of teens will receive treatment. Learn to identify a child or teenager who may be developing a mental health problem such as anxiety, how to supportively engage them and connect them to expert help when needed.

ATTENDEES WILL:

✔ Discover why unmanaged anxiety is the number one mental health problem for youth in the world & what can be done about it

✔ Explore the impact of technology and social media on youth mental health

✔ Recognize the difference between normal anxiety & toxic stress & when professional help may be needed

✔ Learn powerful, evidence-based coping strategies that can address anxiety, depression & prevent crisis with youth

Depression is a condition that causes appetite and sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, and can completely sap a child’s motivation. It can also lead to suicidal behavior. From 2007 - 2017, the suicide rate for youth increased 56% with nearly 1 in 5 high school students having seriously considered suicide. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, hospitals struggled to manage a 44% increase in mental health–related ER visits for youth. As new data surfaces, we continue to see the toll this global health crisis has taken on our young people.

ATTENDEES WILL:

✔ Learn to recognize the signs of depression and its impact on academic life, relationships, and physical health

✔ Identify warning signs and factors that increase risk of suicide

✔ Establish a basic step-by-step process to assess risk & connect a person in crisis to appropriate helping professionals

“Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort” (van der Kolk). When youth have been in situations where they feared for their lives, believed that they would be injured, witnessed violence, or tragically lost a loved one, they may show signs of traumatic stress (NCTSN). Those with trauma history were more likely to report anxiety, depression, substance use, hostility, suicidal thoughts, & academic distress.

ATTENDEES WILL:

✔ Identify physiological, emotional, and behavioral signs & symptoms associated with trauma

✔ Identify the differences between typical trauma responses and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and when professional help is indicated

✔ Apply the WARP tool to recognize when professional support may be needed.

✔ Practice coping strategies that can help mitigate the effects of trauma

✔ Learn how to help a young person who may be struggling with trauma and its effects

The adolescent brain is often likened to a car with a fully functioning gas pedal (the reward system) but weak brakes (the prefrontal cortex). People are most likely to begin abusing drugs—including tobacco, alcohol, and illegal and prescription drugs—during adolescence and young adulthood. By the time they are seniors, almost 70 percent of high school students will have tried alcohol, half will have taken an illegal drug, nearly 40 percent will have smoked a cigarette, and more than 20 percent will have used a prescription drug for a nonmedical purpose. There are many reasons adolescents use these substances, including the desire for new experiences, an attempt to deal with problems or perform better in school, and simple peer pressure. (Nat’l Institute on Drug Abuse, drugabuse.gov)

ATTENDEES WILL:

✔ Learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of youth substance use

✔ Learn how to engage a young person who may be resistant to help

✔ Learn the range of resources available and when a hospital admission may be indicated

Youth Mental Health First Aid was created by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and trains adults how to identify, understand, and respond to mental health challenges with youth. Participants will learn a proven 5-step plan to engage a young person and connect them to expert help when needed.

THREE LEARNING OPTIONS

✔ VIRTUAL. First Aiders will complete a 1.5-hour, self-paced online course, and then participate in a 5.5 hour, Insructor-led video conference.

✔ BLENDED LEARNING. After completing a 1.5-hour, self-paced online course, First Aiders will participate in a 4.5-hour, in-person, Instructor-led class.

✔ IN-PERSON. First Aiders will receive their training as an 7-hour, Instructor-led, in-person course. The course can be delivered in one 7-hour session or two 3.5-hour sessions over 2 days.

WHAT IT COVERS

✔ Anxiety

✔ Depression

✔ Eating Disorders

✔ Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

✔ Common signs and symptoms of substance use

✔ How to interact with a child or adolescent in crisis

✔ How to connect the person with help

✔ *NEW: Expanded content on trauma, addiction and self-care and the impact of social media and bullying

Practice makes perfect. Refresher courses maintain awareness and keep skills sharp. These short trainings provide an ongoing check on knowledge deficits and training needs.

✔ LEADERSHIP

✔ TEACHERS

✔ SCHOOL STAFF

✔ COACHES

✔ CAMP COUNSELORS

✔ YOUTH GROUP LEADERS

✔ PARENTS

✔ PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH YOUTH

Since the onset of the pandemic, 40% of people at every seniority level of business have seen a decrease in mental health (HBR, May 2020). As a leader, it is difficult to be fully present for the people you are responsible for when you are also struggling. Join us for this virtual or in-person training and see how we really are all in this together

ATTENDEES WILL:

✔ Gain access to self-administered brief screening tools for mental health challenges to help yourself & others

✔ Learn evidenced based coping strategies to address a range of mental health challenges

✔ Create a personal coping plan

According to the International Classification of Disease (ICD11), burnout results from chronic, unmanaged stress and often leads to cynicism, loss of personal efficacy, and exhaustion. Burnout also affects your thinking and decision-making ability. One study found 75% of people have experienced burnout at work, with 40% saying they’ve experienced burnout specifically during the pandemic (MHA). If you or someone you care about may be struggling with burnout, come learn about the warning signs and what can be done about it.

ATTENDEES WILL:

✔ Understand and define burnout vs. mental health challenges such as depression or anxiety

✔ Recognize warning signs of burnout

✔ Learn how to address and prevent burnout through coping strategies & other practices

✔ Example: One of your students has had declining performance since a family member died by suicide a few months ago. She has had trouble sleeping and you can tell she has lost weight. She arrives late and appears a bit disheveled.

✔ Discussion: What kind of help is needed here?

✔ How do you start the conversation?

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✔ 1 HOUR SESSIONS Up to 6

participants per virtual meeting or dial-in for personalized support

✔ Attendees Will Receive:

✔ Refresher on YMHFA core strategy for those certified

✔ Opportunity to debrief experiences helping youth

✔ Guidance & skill development in supporting youth