Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, more people have been participating in self-reflection about what is most important to them and how to keep themselves as healthy as possible. Some have decided to add a pet to their life, some have decided to start a new hobby, and others have decided to switch careers. One major change that has occurred due to the pandemic is the opinions people have about mental health. Before the pandemic, many people did not discuss mental health issues. However, since COVID-19 has emerged, more people are discussing mental health and related issues more than ever.
Observing the changes in how mental health is viewed since the start of the pandemic, the University of Southern Indiana’s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) has implemented new programs to allow people to learn more about mental health issues and how to best react to these issues. One program is Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). MHFA was created in 2008 in Australia and, since that time, has spread throughout the world, with various adaptations based upon cultures and languages.
Susie Schenk, a MHFA instructor and contractor with the GWEP, aids the MHFA program by creating infrastructure for hosting classes, collecting data and helping new instructors get comfortable with the material and prepare for teaching their first class. Schenk compares this program to a medical first aid training class. MHFA classes are comprised of one full day of training from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In every class, students sit at group tables where they can interact and collaborate with fellow students.
“The classes teach participants about the most common mental health issues, detail the signs and symptoms of these mental health issues and provide an action plan for how to help someone experiencing a mental health challenge,” said Schenk. “The certification of completing an MHFA course is valid for three years.”
MHFA has supplemental material for courses with specific populations. One such supplement is for older adults and individuals wanting more information on how to help an older adult having mental health concerns. USI’s GWEP program has identified individual staff members from three local nursing homes to become MHFA instructors. Once these staff members have completed the instructor course, they will work with Schenk and then implement what they have learned by providing MHFA classes for older adults and their care providers. The GWEP’s goal is to have at least one new instructor per year, with an anticipated six new instructors at the end of 2023, making the GWEP a key player in expanding MHFA training.
Students do not have to be experts in psychology to benefit from MHFA classes or to become instructors,” said Schenk. “Anybody who is interested in MHFA may take the class.”
To find out more information about MHFA, please visit their national website.
Susie Schenk has her Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Pacific University in Oregon, with a focus in both Clinical Counseling and Organizational Behavior and recently completed her MBA from the University of Southern Indiana. She also has a BFA in Theater from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. She is a licensed mental health and addictions counselor who worked in direct service for over 15 years, primarily in a crisis center, and is now consulting to businesses, helping to improve workplace dynamics and reduce the impact that mental health and substance use has on the workforce. She has been a Mental Health First Aid Instructor since 2011 and was named a “Top 100 Instructor of All Time” in 2018 by the National Council Mental Wellbeing.
