Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training will be held on Wednesday, March 20, from 8 AM to 4:30 PM at the Highland Community College Stadium Center Lower Level, located at 606 West Main Street, Highland, KS. Similar to First Aid and CPR training, Youth MHFA training helps the public better identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses. This training teaches individuals how to help youth who might be experiencing mental health challenges or crises. Students, childcare providers, health care workers, teachers, clergy, law enforcement, social workers, behavioral healthcare workers, youth leaders and local citizens are encouraged to complete this useful training.
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Participants will receive a certificate from the National Council for Behavioral Health upon successful completion of the training. To pre-register, call 785-442-6400 or email humanservices@highlandcc.edu. The cost for the certification is $60 per person with lunch and refreshments provided.
The class will be led by Courtney Freeman, LMSW, CPT and Counselor for Highland Community College. Before joining the staff at Highland, Freeman worked as a Family Supporter Worker at KVC, a Palliative Care Team social work student at Kansas University Medical Center and started a grant-funded domestic violence program with the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska. Freeman also currently works as a private practice clinician with Horizon Mental Health and with the Doniphan County Kansas Health Department. She holds a Master of Social Work from University of Kansas, is a Certified Play Therapist, and became a certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor in 2018.
The National Council for Behavioral Health certifies individuals throughout the nation, including Highland Community College, to provide Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid courses to prepare their communities with the knowledge and skills to help adults and youth who are developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. Mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, psychosis and substance use are shockingly common in the United States. In fact, more than one in five American adults will have a mental health problem in any given year.
For questions about the event contact Eleanor Hensley at Highland Community College at humanservices@highlandcc.edu or by phone at 785-442-6400. For more information on Mental Health First Aid, visit www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org.
Since 1858 Highland Community College, the first college in the state of Kansas, has been providing quality education in Northeast Kansas and serves nine counties and 3,600 students from around the world. Learn more at www.highlandcc.edu.
