Learning how to listen
Mental health first aid course being offered in North Sydney
A program offering mental health first aid training is set to take place this week in North Sydney.
The program, being offered by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, will run on Wednesday and Thursday at the North Sydney Firefighters Club.
The two-day course teaches first aid skills to enable people to recognize mental health symptoms and provide support until professional help is available.
Amanda Baillie-Cameron, a certified mental health first aid instructor, will run the program in North Sydney.
“Everyone can benefit from mental health first aid because members of the general public, teachers, health service providers, university students and emergency workers, who all deal with the public, can learn from this,” said Baillie-Cameron.
“The course prepares people to recognize mental health problems, it increases their knowledge about the appropriate treatments and it helps to reduce stigma and it teaches people how to listen and not be judgmental,” she said.
According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, more than 200,000 Canadians have been trained in mental health first aid.
Mental health first aid is an international program active in more than 20 countries. The Mental Health Commission of Canada says research has shown that the course offers significant positive impacts for participants and their workplaces, communities and families.
Baillie-Cameron has been instructing
mental health first aid for the past year. She lived and worked in Saskatchewan for 13 years as a mental health therapist and teacher, before moving home to Cape Breton.
“For awhile it was difficult for me to instruct the course because there are a lot of things in the course that have affected my family,” said Baillie-Cameron. “I feel like it’s really making a positive change, I feel like I’m actually assisting in helping people reduce stigma and being an advocate for mental health.”
Baillie-Cameron believes the course is an asset.
“People have told me the course has really opened their eyes, they realized they were judgmental and that they had to change their perspective on people with mental health problems and mental illness,” said Baillie-Cameron.
“This course doesn’t teach you how to be a counsellor or a therapist, but it does teach you how to listen and not be judgmental.”
As on Monday morning, 14 people were registered for the North Sydney course, with 11 spots still available.
The course will take place both Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost of the course is $120.
To register contact BaillieCameron at 902-842-3313 or email abailliecameron@gmail.com.