Receive free mental health first aid training

BLOOMINGTON – Prevention Insights at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington will be offering free, virtual training sessions on mental health first aid.

These training sessions were made possible by a three-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. They are open to anyone in the IU or Monroe County community over the age of 18 to become trained to recognize the signs of a struggling friend, family member, or colleague.

Heather Dolne

Mental Health Awareness Training project director Heather Dolne works for the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington’s Prevention Insights, an organization that was established to assist with drug use prevention but has since added mental health training to its many services.

Prevention Insights will be offering the training on March 24, April 22, and May 14. The virtual training sessions run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with breaks in between. The live sessions include interaction and discussion.

Dolne said participants will learn signs and symptoms of mental health disorders, how to reduce the stigma, the impact of trauma and addiction, how to support a person with a mental health disorder and connect them to care, and more.

Sign up by clicking here.