N.C. college to offer course in mental health first aid

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — College of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City will offer its first course on mental health first aid as mental health problems surge amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The community college will conduct the eight-hour course this spring for its students in human services technology, a program for entry level positions in mental health fields.

Later, the course will be offered to professionals in such areas as law enforcement and education, said Laura Gardner, program coordinator for human services technology at COA.

Mental health first aid works much like first aid for physical injuries, she said.

While CPR helps a person assist someone having a heart attack, mental health first aid helps a person assist someone contemplating suicide, having a panic attack or some other such emergency.

Students learn to use ALGEE, an acronym for a five-steps action plan — assess risk, listen without judging, give assurance and information, encourage professional help and encourage self-help.

Participants are introduced to risk factors and warning signs for mental health or substance abuse problems, she said.

“The goal is to help support an individual until appropriate professional help arrives,” she said. “We don’t diagnose or solve the problem.”

COVID-19 death tolls and isolation during lockdowns have added to the problem.

A CDC survey on pandemic impacts showed that from late April to the end of June, 35 to 40% of Americans reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition.

In 2019, a similar survey from January through June showed 11% had symptoms of depression or anxiety.

Gardner had planned to add the mental health course to the curriculum before the virus, but now it takes on more urgency. There is greater incentive and possibly funding to expand instruction into the community, she said.

Last month, the federal government appropriated $16.7 million to go toward programs such as mental health first aid.

The training was developed in 2000 in Australia by Betty Kitchener, a nurse who specialized in health education and her husband, Tony Jorm, a mental health literacy professor.

It was established in the United States in 2007 and is now practiced in 24 nations, according to Mental Health First Aid International.

Courses in the United States are overseen by The National Council for Behavioral Health.