Is your coworker moody or struggling under an emotional burden too heavy to carry? Is your spouse irritable or handling a mental illness?
For most of us, it is difficult to spot the signs of a mental illness, and even more challenging to know when a situation crosses from troubling to crisis.
And when we do recognize a crisis, how should we respond? Most people want to step in and save the day. But it’s not easy to be a superhero. These days, it seems as difficult to find the right response as it is to find a phone booth for costume changes. 
We can’t help you with the phone booth, but we can help you know how to recognize and respond to a mental health emergency.
Providing the Tools You Need
Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that teaches the signs of a mental health crisis, and the best responses to those emergencies.
In an effort to make Mental Health First Aid as common as CPR training, the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board offers these courses to the public several times each year. The next training session will be held Oct. 11 and 12. You can signup online.
While most people know how to recognize and respond to a heart attack, too few of us would know how to respond if we saw someone having a panic attack or if we were concerned that a friend or co-worker might be showing signs of alcoholism.
This 8-hour course will give you confidence to start difficult conversations about mental health and substance use disorders. You will be able to identify and address these issues as they arise.
Through role-playing and simulations, participants gain skills to offer assistance in a mental health crisis. Participants will learn the common risk factors and warning signs of mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, substance use disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The course will enable participants to offer community resources to people in crisis.
There is a $15 registration fee, which includes a workbook, refreshments and lunch on the first day of training. Checks should be made payable to RACSB with “Mental Health First Aid” in the memo line.
This course will give you the tools you’ll need to be a superhero and save the day!
For details, please contact Jennifer Bateman, 540-374-3337, ext. 100 or jbateman@rappahannockareacsb.org.