Mental Health First Aid workshops set in Havre

Havreites can learn how to respond to a mental health crisis this Saturday.

After learning to identify people who may have mental health disorders or be suicidal, workshop participants will learn what to do next, Hill County Extension Agent Shylea Wingard said Thursday during a meeting of Hill County officials.

The Mental Health First Aid workshop will be held Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Timmons Room of the Hill County Courthouse, Wingard said.

The course will provide role playing, scenarios and activities to prepare participants to respond to crisis, the Mental Health First Aid web page says. They include scenarios on panic attacks, suicidal thoughts or behaviors, nonsuicidal self-injury, acute psychosis — hallucinations or delusions — overdose or withdrawal from alcohol or drug use, and reactions to a traumatic event.

The workshop does not train people to treat mental health disorders or give diagnosis, Wingard said, but to recognize and respond properly to people at risk.

Havre has several options for mental health treatment, including the Center for Mental Health, Northern Montana Health Care and Youth Dynamics.

Participants at Saturday’s event will include office personnel from the Hill County Sheriff’s Office and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Wingard said, and all participants will receive a certificate of completion from the National Council for Behavioral Health.

The event is free and open to the public, Wingard added, and she said people should bring lunch.

People can RSVP today by calling Jasmine Carbajal, the extension agent who is running the workshop, at 265-5481, ext. 2335.

The Hill County Extension Office has several upcoming workshops.

Bullhook Community Health Center also runs Mental Health First Aid workshops, Bullhook Behavioral Health Manager Diedre Reiter said this morning.

Sept. 14, Curtis Smeby, Ph.D., a professor at Montana State University-Northern, will lead a mental health first aid workshop to respond to adult mental health crisis.

Sept. 28, Lindsey Reichelt, LCSW, will lead a workshop to respond to mental health crisis in children.

Both workshops run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a one-hour lunch break and will teach participants how to identify mental illnesses and how to respond to a mental health crisis.

The workshops use a $22 book, Reiter said, and added that full scholarships covering this cost are available to individual Hill County residents who may be concerned about a friend or family member. Groups including organizations and businesses, however, are not eligible for the scholarships, she said.

People interested in the workshops can call Diedre Reiter, behavioral health manager at Bullhook clinic, at 395-6907. Space is limited to 30 participants, Reiter added.