NAMI to offer suicide prevention, metal health awareness training
Albany HeraldMar 07, 2018
Citing a recent article that ran in the Georgia Health Consumer Network in response to the recent south
The article, written by Dr.
Brands said, "This one struck me because of the emphasis on what needs to be done for our young people."
Brands said there are several reasons prevention, community awareness, training and open discussions about suicide and mental health matter.
"The earlier, the better; early identification and intervention provide better outcomes," she said.
Brands cited some statistics:
-- 1 in 5 kids experiences a mental health condition;
-- Only 20 percent of them actually get help;
-- About 50 percent of students ages 14 and over with a mental health condition will drop out of school;
=- Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for 15-24-year-olds.
Brands said workshops and training sessions are available in
Programs currently offered through NAMI in the
-- Youth in Crisis is a three- day training for adults who may encounter youths in any kind of crisis. This workshop is a partnership with local behavioral health professionals and the
-- NAMI Basics, is a 15-hour education program (offered in six weekly sessions). It is designed for parents or caregivers of children or youths showing symptoms of mental illness or behavior disorders. The program is free of charge to participants.
-- Parents and Teachers as Allies is an in-service program for school staff. It includes facts about mental illness in school-aged youths. Topics include recognizable symptoms and suicide prevention. Trained presenters include a young person in recovery who has had a mental illness while in school and a parent. Both share from their own life experience. There is no cost to participants.
-- Ending the Silence is a presentation to high school students presented by young people in recovery for mental illness and those young people's parents. This program also includes warning signs and suicide prevention.
"Last May we held a stakeholders' conference for those working with youths, and we are preparing for another conference this May," Brands said on Tuesday. "Our last conference was attended by about 70 people. Out of that event these workshops and training sessions were developed. Once we meet again in May, we will begin our schedule for presentations, which will likely take place over the summer when school is not in session, and then follow up with the presentations for students next school year."
Brands said the exact date and location of the upcoming stakeholder's conference is yet to be announced. She suggested that everyone in schools should have access to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
She also said there there are additional resources available to youths who are concerned about themselves or others. NAMI also offers a
For example, a Training for the Parents and Teachers as Allies, which is a 90-minute presentation for teachers and other school personnel to raise their awareness about mental illness and to help them recognize the early warning signs and the importance of early intervention, was held on
Dean said she hopes to offer similar training sessions closer to home in
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