Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) offered its first Mental Health First Aid training course on Monday, January 30. The course, held at North Campus, was facilitated by Academic Director of Health Sciences Dr. Monica Franklin and Julie Seals, federal and wellness program manager for Northeast Florida Area Health Education Center.

Mental Health First Aid teaches attendees how to assess and support individuals who may be experiencing various mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, psychosis and substance use disorders.  With this Collegewide initiative, FSCJ is committed to training at least 100 mental health first aiders annually over the next three years.  People who enroll in the Mental Health First Aid courses learn a five-step action plan to help loved ones, colleagues, neighbors and others cope with mental health or substance use problems.  

Similar to traditional first aid and CPR, Mental Health First Aid is help provided to a person developing a mental health problem or experiencing a crisis until professional treatment is obtained or the crisis resolves.  Mental Health First Aid is an evidence-based public education and prevention tool. It improves the public's knowledge of mental health and substance use problems and connects people with appropriate care for these issues.  All training sessions offered at the College are free and open to faculty, staff, students and the community.