6
MERIDIAN SOURCE
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Mental health workshop coming to Lloyd
GEOFF LEE
WRITER
.................................. Mental Health First
Aid can help save the life of someone with a mental health problem
or crisis with more than BandAid solutions. Two Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) workshops will be held at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Lloydminster Feb.12-13 aimed at certifying those taking the course to Mental Health Commission of Canada standards.
“
The course was developed by psychiatrists trying to mimic the physical first aid side of things
The course will be delivered by Carissa Listrom, owner of Listrom Training and Consulting, under a contract to the commission that oversees the national MHFA program. Listrom is also a certified MHFA instructor and says the course fills a void in Lloydminster for MHFA training. “There’s not a lot of
courses happening in that area over the past three years,” she said. Listrom says just like physical first aid is provided until medical treatment can be obtained, MHFA is given until appropriate support is found or until the crisis is resolved. She says Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders in your community. Listrom says she can teach a maximum of 25 people under her contract. “I am hoping for 25, but even a group of 15 is good,” she said. Workshop topics include substance related disorders, mood related disorders, anxiety and trauma related disorders and psychotic disorders. Certified MHFA practitioners provide people with mental health issues with some education and awareness of what resources are in their area that can be beneficial to them in their journey toward wellness. “The course was developed by psychiatrists trying to mimic the physical first aid side of things,” said Listrom, who delivers courses throughout Western Canada.
Supplied Photo
Carissa Listrom, pictured with family, is a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor who will teach a MHFA workshop in Lloydminster Feb. 12-13 to help certify participants to the national Mental Health Commission of Canada standards
She says people taking the course typically include first responders, nurses, social workers and HR and frontline managers in the workplace as well as unionized employees. “It’s actually meant for anyone to take. I also have individuals take the course who have family members who are struggling that are looking for a bit more educational awareness and tools to help their families get the proper treatment at home,” said Listrom. The MHFA certification person registered holders in Alberta who administer the first aid from liability under the Emergency Medical 19021SS1
First Aiders Act. Listrom says the role of the MHFA worker in a workplace is having a structured conversation with someone struggling with mental health about what they are going through and educating them about available resources to get to a place of better health. “It’s someone who has some rapport with the staff who feels comfortable talking to on a personal level,” said Listrom. The MHFA workshop follows the Bell’s Let’s Talk mental health day on Jan. 30, but Listrom says it’s important to have these conversations every day all year not just during those campaigns. She says she got involved in the course from mental health issues in her own family including her husband who has struggled with anxiety disorder and depressive disorders most of his life. “During pregnancy I struggled with postpartum and perinatal depression with suicidal ideation. So this course very much hits close to home to me. Now I have a threeyear-old daughter who is going into the school system,” said Listrom. She say she gets a lots of teachers taking this course too because they are seeing the prevalence of mental health problems in youths.