Inside Mental Health First Aid: What some Germantowners learned and why it matters

What are ways we as community members can support someone going through a mental health challenge? Can we help someone struggling with a mental health crisis without immediately calling the police?

These are a couple of questions some neighbors in Germantown had, and the Mental Health First Aid Training was there to help.

Mental Health First Aid, from their website, is “an evidence-based, early-intervention course that teaches participants about mental health and substance use challenges.”

What does that mean? According to local Dr. Willie J. Keaton Jr, who facilitated the all-day intensive workshop, it’s really about becoming a professional “noticer” and a non-judgmental listener. Keaton is Merakey’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Committee’s (CCBHC) community liaison. Merakey provides developmental, behavioral health, and educational services.

About one in five adults in the U.S. struggled with some kind of mental illness, according to a 2022 national survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

“We’re coming in contact with more people who are struggling with their mental health than we think. And so what this course does is it helps you to see. It helps you to become sort of a noticer–that you notice signs and symptoms before they get worse and before it becomes a crisis,” said Keaton.

The training was held at Crossroads Women’s Center on March 27, and it was offered for free through a SAMHSA grant. Merakey partnered with the women’s center and Germantown United CDC to host the training, and about 20 folks took the training for many different reasons.

“So as part of my business as an esthetician and catering, I feel like it’s extremely important to incorporate some mental health aspects into the business, into our services, because a part of self care does align with mental health and just physical health, “ said Kiki Bufford, who owns 387 Grooming on Maplewood Mall.

Chantel Havens, from Germantown, is a registered nurse. She wanted to take the class because she could see how much mental health could play a part in someone’s physical wellbeing, and how she could incorporate that into her nursing practice.

“The first job I ever had, I worked in an acute care setting with people who had chronic kidney issues. So dialysis, different things like that, urinary tract infections. And a lot of times it may be like years of an underlying mental health disorder that causes someone to neglect their health,” said Havens.

Havens notes that not only did she want to incorporate the skills from the training for her future patients, but also for her fellow nurses, who she’s seen become burned out and not taking the time to address their mental health.

Dr. Keaton understands burnout. It’s what pushed him into his second career. Keaton started as a pastor, working in churches and community organizing.

He didn’t realize the toll it was taking on his mental health until he had a heart attack. When Keaton was healing, he realized how he didn’t take time for self-care, and how burned out he was. He got into therapy and started to balance his mental health with his life.

He now helps bring together organizations and leaders who are doing similar work in neighborhoods, to connect and facilitate the organizations talking to each other, promote the work of the CCBHC, and see where they can intersect on partnerships, training, and other services that CCBHC offers.

Mental Health First Aid in action

Mental Health First Aid is centered around the acronym ALGEE, which is a fuller action plan and framework.

In longer form, this means Assess, Listen non-judgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage professional help, and Encourage self-help–all ways to support individuals struggling with mental health.

Assessing (which is always done) includes noticing the early signs and symptoms of someone who may be thinking of harming themselves, like withdrawal from family and friends or risky behaviors.
Listening non-judgmentally is having patience and deep listening, which ensures people feel heard and understood.
Giving reassurance and information involves listening and offering advice and information without blame and with dignity.
Encouraging professional help is directing people to appropriate help, whether doctors, social workers, or mental health professionals.
Encouraging self-help points folks to strategies that can help support their mental health, like exercise, meditation, and peer support groups.

Keaton made sure to let people know that it’s a non-linear way of supporting folks, meaning there is no specific order or sequence to follow this action plan and that you should do what feels most appropriate at the time.

Throughout the 8-hour day, he continuously underscored the fact that Mental Health First Aid is not used to diagnose or treat mental health disorders, but is rather an intervention.

Workshop underway

Using a projector, Keaton took participants through slides about how ALGEE works, what the difference between a mental health challenge and a mental health crisis is, and how the different steps are used while assessing a situation.

While a challenge and crisis may sound similar, they have key differences that are important to note, always while assessing the situation as part of the ALGEE plan.

A mental health challenge could be where someone’s mental health is temporarily disrupted, maybe with feelings of being overwhelmed or isolated, but not necessarily affecting the day-to-day functions. While a mental health crisis is heightened, lasting longer, most likely hindering a person’s ability to care for themselves, and could cause harm to a person or others.

Slides also covered common mental health disorders and language to use with people who may be considering suicide.

Then, short videos were shown with examples of people going through either a mental health challenge or crisis and how different people responded, sometimes in helpful or unhelpful ways. Questions were asked about the steps and how the people responding were using the tools and language that the Mental Health First Aid participants were learning.

The training stresses always putting safety first, and while you are continually assessing, you are taking note if the situation is something that could be more of a crisis, and if a professional is needed.

But, as the data that Keaton presents suggests, most people going through a mental health challenge or even a crisis do not hurt other people. He reveals that only about three to five percent of people who have a mental health crisis hurt somebody else.

So threatening to call the police or getting them hospitalized isn’t necessarily the first step, but instead listening non-judgmentally and offering reassurance.

Learning the tools and language of support

Kiki Bufford and Chantel Havens both said the way the class was able to provide the verbiage that was able to hold space and support people gave them confidence to speak to folks going through mental health challenges.

Bufford mentioned that after the training, she now feels like she has the language to be calm and confident talking to someone, even about something as intense as considering suicide.

“You know, like, is that something that you’re thinking about? (And) being more comfortable and confident with asking them, but then also feeling like I now have some tools that can help them in the next step. So if it is suicide, then what can we do about it? What are the resources and the steps that we can take to prevent completion of that?” said Bufford.

Havens said the class gave her language she felt she could use not only in a healthcare or work situation but also in an interpersonal relationship with family or friends, even in the most intense situations.

A lot of times, Havens says, people may tell you what they’re going through, but when they actually tell you how they’re struggling, it’s difficult to hold space for them. “It kind of gives you the language to be able to sit and talk to this person instead of kind of cutting them off because you’re uncomfortable,” said Havens.

The Mental Health First Aid training is hosted in countries all over the world, and Keaton is passionate about its services. He loves that folks who take the class can be there for family, friends, or neighbors who may be struggling, before it becomes a full-blown crisis.

Dr. Keaton is always looking for community organizations and community leaders to partner with to host these trainings and other services that the CCBHC offers. You can contact him at DrWillieJ.KeatonJr@merakey.org.