Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) teaches you how to give initial aid to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem, or experiencing a crisis. Like CPR, MHFA helps you provide an intervention to get someone the care they need.
The eight-hour course teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to the signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The program also teaches the common risk factors and warning signs of specific types of illnesses, like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and schizophrenia.

Partners Training Academy and Partners’ System of Care Department offer MHFA Training to groups and organizations in our eight-county service area. If you would like to learn more about this training or schedule a class, please email Jeanne Patterson or call 704-772-4310.

Learn more about Mental Health First Aid (MHFA).

 

Suicide Prevention Training (QPR)

You only need to know three steps to help prevent suicide: Question. Persuade. Refer.

These three steps are the basis of QPR Training. This 90-minute training will equip you with the necessary tools to:

• Recognize the warning signs of suicide
• Know how to offer hope
• Know how to refer help and save a life

Partners Training Academy and Partners’ System of Care Department offer QPR training to groups and organizations in our eight-county service area. If you would like to learn more about this training or schedule a class, please email please email Jeanne Patterson or call 704-772-4310.

Learn more about QPR. Question. Persuade. Refer.

Youth Mental Health First Aid

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is in crisis or is experiencing a challenge with mental health or addiction. YMHFA is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people.

The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations.

Topics covered include:

• Anxiety depression
• Substance use
• Disorders in which psychosis may occur
• Disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD)
• Eating disorders

Partners Training Academy and Partners’ System of Care Department offer YMHFA training to groups and organizations in our eight-county service area. If you would like to learn more about this training or schedule a class, please email Jeanne Patterson or call 704-772-4310.

Child Abuse Prevention – Darkness to Light

Darkness to Light is a two-hour training designed to prevent childhood sexual abuse by increasing awareness and education in communities. Individuals who participate in Darkness to Light learn ways that they can prevent childhood sexual abuse, including:

• Facts about childhood sexual abuse
• How to recognize signs and symptoms of childhood sexual abuse
• Steps one can take to prevent childhood sexual abuse
• One’s obligation to report childhood sexual abuse
• How to make appropriate referrals to legal authorities

Anyone can benefit from this training, however, groups that are directly engaged with children will be especially interested in Darkness to Light training (recreation facilities, faith based communities, educational institutions, business communities, and child serving agencies).

Darkness to Light training is offered free of charge, however there is a $10 fee per participant to cover the cost of the workbook. Scholarships are available to cover the cost of the workbooks for participants meeting eligibility requirements. A workbook is required for each participant and participants can take the workbook with them upon successful completion of the training. If you would like to learn more about this training or schedule a class, please email Kimberly Rhoads or call 828-323-8049.

Learn more about Darkness to Light. End Child Sexual Abuse.

Child and Family Team Training

Child and Family Teams support the active involvement of all who impact a child’s life during treatment. A team comes together to create, implement, and update a behavioral health treatment plan with the child, youth, and family that builds on their collective strengths and addresses needs, desires, and goals.

Introduction to Child and Family Teams: A Cross-System Training from the Family’s Perspective is a two-day training designed to provide an overview of the family’s perspective of a Child and Family Team meeting. Most of the training will be presented through mock Child and Family Team meeting role-plays, with participants switching between roles of participation and observation of the mock meetings. The goal is to identify and learn the best ways to engage families during a Child and Family Team meeting.

Who can benefit from this training? Anyone who would participate in a Child and Family Team meeting, such as:

• Family members of individuals with mental health, substance use disorders, or intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Human Service Agency employees (Department of Social Services, Division of Juvenile Justice, Health Department)
• Teachers and school counselors
• Provider agency employees
• Advocates for individuals with mental health, substance use disorders, or intellectual and developmental disabilities

To learn more about Child and Family Teams, or to schedule a training, please email Kimberly Rhoads or call 828-323-8049.

Crisis Intervention Team

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training is an innovative first-responder model that teaches first responders how to engage and interact with people experiencing a behavioral health crisis. Currently, over 900 law enforcement officers and first responders in Partners’ eight county area are CIT certified.

The training fosters a better understanding of mental illness, reduces stigma, and raises awareness of the need for further involvement with the criminal justice system. The premise behind CIT is to divert individuals with behavioral health needs to a treatment facility where they can receive help while maintaining public safety.

CIT teaches participants:

• A basic understanding of behavioral health disorders
• Techniques to de-escalate a crisis situation
• How to connect individuals with treatment and resources

CIT training can be useful for all law enforcement units including highway patrol, firefighters, school resource officers, emergency dispatch staff, and other first responders.

CIT is traditionally a 40-hour course, but also offers a 16-hour option for some groups. While Partners facilitates the training, it is very much a collaboration of community groups.  The training relies on the support and involvement of local law enforcement officials, behavioral health provider agencies, community colleges, hospitals, local National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) chapters, the Consumer and Family Advisory Committee (CFAC), and other advocacy organizations.

If you have questions or would like to get your organization involved in Crisis Intervention Team Training, please email Kimberly Rhoads at krhoads@partnersbhm.org or call 828-323-8049.

For a list of agencies who have CIT-certified staff working in our community, visit out CIT-Certified Staff page.

Learn more about Crisis Intervention Team training on these websites:

• Crisis Solutions North Carolina- CIT
• CIT International
• The Crisis Intervention Team Model of Police Response to Mental Health Crises: A Primer for Mental Health Practitioners

 

Community Resiliency Model® (CRM) Skills Training

The Community Resiliency Model® (CRM) trains community members to not only help themselves, but to help others within their wider social network. The primary focus of this skills-based, stabilization program is to reset the natural balance of the nervous system.

CRM®’s goal is to help to create “trauma-informed” and “resiliency-focused” communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system and how resiliency can be restored or increased using this skills-based approach. CRM® Skills Trainings introduces the six wellness skills of TRM® designed to help adults and children learn to track their own nervous systems in order to bring the body, mind, and spirit back into greater balance, and to encourage people to pass the skills along to family, friends, and their wider community.

To learn more about CRM Skills training, please contact Kimberly Rhoads at krhoads@partnersbhm.org or call 828-323-8049.

Online Training Opportunities

Partners has developed a number of online training opportunities. Please visit the Partners Events Calendar for dates, times and registration information.

Online Training: Domestic Violence During COVID 19-How to Help

Description: While we are sheltering at home, there is a greater risk of domestic violence. Calls to domestic violence hotlines are increasing. Learn basic information about domestic violence, available resources and how you can help someone.

Target Audience: Community, Providers

Online Training: Helping Children and Youth Manage Stress and Trauma During Quarantine

Description: All of us, including our children and youth are feeling the effects of stress as we continue with “Shelter in Place”. This training uses the Community Resilience Model skills to help all of us manage the stress we are experiencing.

Target Audience: Community, Providers

Online Training: Human Trafficking: How to Help A Survivor and Protect Our Children

As we think about those most vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis, survivors of human trafficking may have no one to look out for them. Also, as our children are at home and perhaps online more, they are at risk of being preyed upon by a trafficker. Learn some basics about trafficking, how to spot the signs and how to protect our children.

Target Audience: Community, Providers

Online Training: Human Trafficking During COVID 19: How to Stay Save During COVID-19

Human trafficking and especially Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking is a terrible problem. In addition, now our children are at home and possibly online more than usual. Learn about trafficking and how to keep our children safe from predators.

Target Audience: Community

Online Training: QPR Suicide Prevention During COVID 19 Crisis

This is an online training.  

Description: During the COVID-19 crisis, many people are isolated and may experience mental health issues. Some may consider suicide. This training teaches the skills to help someone who is in a suicidal crisis.

Target Audience: Community, Providers

Online Training: Relapse Prevention in Stressful Situations

This presentation provides information about managing recovery during stressful times. Practical relapse prevention skills are discussed; participants will receive access to the power point slide deck that includes links to helpful videos and resources.

Target Audience: Community, Providers

Online Training: Stress Management During COVID-19 w/ CRM(R) Skills

This presentation provides information about various types of stress we experience, including stress related to COVID-19. Practical information is shared about how to manage stress, especially during this time. The presentation includes practice with Community Resilience Model skills; participants will receive access to the power point slide deck that includes links to helpful videos and resources.

Target Audience: Community, Providers