At KC Healthy Kids, we’ve broadened our approach to healthy communities to include mental health. We’ve partnered with Dr. Nancy Osborn, a licensed counseling psychologist, to support staff and families in our Healthy Kids Bright Futures project and to offer trainings on trauma informed care, mindfulness and Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid. For information, email Dr. Nancy Osborn
Trauma informed care is a perspective which assists people in understanding how widespread trauma is, how trauma impacts people and ways in which people can sensitively and safely approach others. It was initially developed for people in human service fields but it is applicable to anyone who interacts with others. The importance of self-care is also emphasized during most trauma informed care trainings.
Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid
Just as taking a first aid class helps you assist someone who is having a heart attack — even if you have no medical training, Mental Health First Aid helps you identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse. After all, mental health disorders are common, and affect one in four adults.
Dr. Nancy Osborn is KC Healthy Kids’ in-house psychologist and is one of the few certified instructors for Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid in the Kansas City area. She has a Ph.D. in counseling psychology and three decades’ experience in providing therapy to others.
Over an 8-hour course, teams and individuals will learn:
Risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction
Ways to help someone in crisis and non-crisis situations
Where to turn for help.
Courses are evidence-based and proven to help participants respond quickly and with confidence when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis such as:
Suicidal behavior
Anxiety
Eating disorders
Depression
Psychosis
Mood disorders
Non-suicidal self-injury
Anyone can benefit from mental health first aid training:
Health care & service providers
First responders (police, fire, paramedics)
Government agencies
Faith-based organizations
Businesses and corporations
Libraries, schools & colleges
Community groups
Parents
Anyone who interacts with the general public
Stigmas associated with mental illness often make it difficult for people to ask for help or to give help. Mental health first aid courses reduce the power of mental health stigmas by equipping people with basic mental health knowledge. The courses also foster early intervention, which is key in a person’s ability to recover from, or to learn to successfully live with, mental illness.
Videos
Click the icon in the top right of the video below to access our full playlist of videos on mental health.
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