Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) in Rocky Mountain House is holding a free Psychological First Aid training course for youth and adults.
The course aims to give people tools to identify warning signs, and to help family, friends and coworkers who may be going through a mental health struggle.
FCSS manager Andrea Hardy says it’s good timing.
“We actually had this in the works before the unfortunate suicides that have happened in our area,” she says. “It empowers people with the ability to understand how to listen to other people, to help them seek supports, and to be with them in that moment.”
Many in the Rocky Mountain House community have been grieving following news of two middle school students who died by suicide this fall.
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Over 300 residents packed the Lou Soppit Community Centre on Oct. 15 for a mental health discussion hosted by the Primary Care Network.
At that meeting, Hardy says many parents expressed concerns about alarming behaviors in their own children. Hardy says the course gives guidance on when the behaviors may be cause for real concern, and when they may not.
Hardy adds, people are dealing with many stressors such as cost of living, addiction and isolation — all contributing to growing mental health struggles in the community.
Similar to how traditional first aid focusses on urgent needs of the physical body, Hardy days psychological first aid can be a first step in a person’s journey to getting the help they need.
“It focusses on how to handle that disclosure [from a friend],” she says. “It helps you deescalate that individual to until you can get them to that next level of care and support.”
The course designated for youth is set to take place Thursday Nov. 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Rocky Arena Complex inside the Subway Room.
The workshop geared toward adults is set to take place at the Rocky Legion on Thursday Nov. 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Those who wish to register can contact lnicholson@trmh.ca, or call 403-847-5270.
Family and Community Support Services are set to host two mental health first aid courses in November. (Family and Community Support Services)
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