AltaPointe to hold mental health first aid training course

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - AltaPointe Health Systems is offering a Mental Health First Aid training course that can teach you how to spot the signs of someone experiencing a mental health crisis and the steps to take to help.

The public is invited to register at AltaPointe.org for the March 4-5 seminar scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the AltaPointe Auditorium, 3650 Old Shell Road in Mobile.

The cost of the training sessions is per participant $75 for non-profit groups, and $125 for individuals.

Mental Health First Aid is a 12-hour certification course that helps participants identify, understand and respond to the signs of a mental health crisis. AltaPointe is one of only 20 organizations nationwide certified to offer Mental Health First Aid.

An estimated 57.7 million people, or one in four adults, suffer from a mental illness in the United States. Many of them are either underdiagnosed or are not receiving appropriate treatment.
AltaPointe’s Mental Health First Aid Team has traveled the country training groups large and small on how to spot the signs of a mental health crisis, how to de-escalate a crisis and what steps are needed to direct a person in crisis to the most pertinent organization for evaluation and care.

AltaPointe’s Mental Health First Aid training coordinator, Michelle Krulewicz-Dees, said that these courses are vital to making sure individuals with mental illnesses remain safe as well as others around them during a crisis.

"Speaking loudly to, touching or getting too close to someone who is in a psychosis can escalate their condition and create a situation that can be physically violent," Krulewicz-Dees said. "We want to prevent these instances and keep everyone safe."

President Barack Obama called for Mental Health First Aid as part of his Gun Control Proposal. Research shows the sooner a person gets help for a mental illness, the more likely they are to have a positive outcome.

For more information on signing up please call, Michelle Dees at (251) 450-4301.