CHENANGO COUNTY - Mental health matters. That's why the Chenango Health Network offers free Mental Health First Aid Training.

Two courses will be offered in June, one standard course on June 20 and one for people who work with youth on June 22, both sessions are open to the public at no cost.

After completing the course, participants will receive Mental Health First Aid certificates valid for three years. The program is designed to help people identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health or substance-use challenges.

“Chenango Health Network is very proud to offer this curriculum, this mental health education, and at no cost,” said Mental Health First Aid Training Coordinator, Tiffani Gager. “We care deeply about mental health and substance use, we care deeply about supporting the community and meeting them where they're at,” she added.

Gager, who teaches the course all over the country in various capacities, has a degree in human services with an emphasis on criminal psychology, and has spent her life working in an out of the mental health system and human services.

She is certified to teach youth, adult, fire, EMS, corrections, law enforcement, higher education, active military, veterans and families, rural communities, and older persons. Gager also sits on the Chenango County Suicide Prevention Coalition.

What is Mental Health First Aid?

Mental Health First Aid training aims to teach participants how to recognize when someone may be experiencing a mental health or substance-use crisis and how to respond with empathy, support, and the appropriate resources. Gager emphasized that this training is not clinical, they do not teach how to diagnose or treat someone. Instead, participants learn to offer nonjudgmental support, listen effectively, and connect people to professional or community resources.

“We don't treat or diagnose, but it's the underlying issues and understanding what risk factors are and the fact that we as humans are, and I mean this in the most loving way, complex and fragile,” she said, “Nothing is black or white.”

A critical piece of the training is learning the acronym ALGEE: Assess and approach, Listen non-judgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage appropriate professional support, and Encourage self-help. Past participants who've given feedback to Gager on the course, mention how they've used ALGEE to handle different situations, and were grateful to have learned it.

Along with recognizing the signs and symptoms of someone who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge, the training aims to reduce stigma and start conversations. Gager explained that Mental Health First Aid training helps participants recognize that every person has a unique life journey and story.

“It provides us with practical tools, guidance, and confidence to approach others with compassion, respect, and empathy rather than judgment, stigma, or shame,” she said. “Mental Health First Aid reminds us that when we avoid conversations about mental health, substance use, suicide, self-harm, or diagnosis, we also risk avoiding conversations about hope, strength, healing, change, survival, resilience, self-discovery, and thriving,” said Gager.

If taking the course virtually, this month, you can expect to receive downloadable versions of what Gager deems the “Mental Health First Aid Bible” otherwise called the Mental Health First Aid Participant Manual.

She'll lead the class through exercises and conversations related to difficult topics like self-harm, suicide, and psychosis.

How to recognize and act

The course covers a myriad of topics including trauma and stressor related disorders, first aid for panic attacks, anxiety and depression, and much more. The training prepares individuals to think differently in emergency situations.

An example Gager gave was a first responder arriving to a scene of someone struggling to breathe. Mental health first aid training equips them to assess and listen first rather than jumping to a physical response like CPR, and they just might figure out the individual is having an anxiety attack rather than a heart attack.

“Mental health first aiders, we''re going to listen. We're going to meet you where you're at. We're going to figure out where your mental health emergency is within your body,” said Gager, adding, “it's exactly like first aid because you want to pinpoint the nature of the emergency.”

She says Mental Health First Aid training is similar to traditional physical first aid training in that you're taught how to assess a situation and how to safely engage with an appropriate response.

“ Is it safe for me to engage? What am I observing? What do I need to listen to? What do I need to look for? And, you know, sometimes they're going to need some bandages and sometimes they just need you to show up and say, hey, I was here,” said Gager.

Participants also learn about self-care for the mental-health first aider. Gager reframes self-care, calling it an essential necessity instead of a selfish act.

“We can't be a support for somebody else if we don't take care of ourselves,” said Gager, adding “as a first aider, when you're engaging with somebody and showing up for them, you're taking on what they're telling you. You need to process that.”

How to register/Course Details

The classes on June 20, and 22, are free and open to adults in the community. The youth-focused course is intended for adults who work with or support young people, not for minors themselves.

Participants will receive a Mental Health First Aid certificate from the Chenango Health Network granted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) program. To register contact Tiffani Gager, the Mental Health First Aid Training Coordinator at the Chenango Health Network by email tiffani@chenangohealth.org or phone (607) 244-3211