Mental Health First Aid, QPR & CAP Programs
Mental Health First Aid Course
Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour certification course that teaches participants how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among adults. The training provides the skills needed to connect with and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis. The course is interactive and uses role-playing and simulations demonstrating intervention skills with adults experiencing specific mental health challenges.
Miami University staff, faculty, and students are welcome to register for the course.
For classified staff: Job Enrichment points may be available if approved by your supervisor.
Please check back regularly, more training dates will be added soon.
Spring 2023 Trainings
In-Person Training: March 24, 2023 (Friday)
Participants must complete a 2-hour, self-paced online course (“pre-work”) prior to attending a 6-hour in-person, Instructor-led training (skills application) in order to obtain certification in Mental Health First Aid. There will be multiple breaks during the training including a one-hour lunch break (lunch is on-your-own; not provided). Space is limited to 20 participants.
Date: Friday, March 24, 2023, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m
Location: McGuffey Hall 126
Cost: $23.95. We ask faculty/staff to use their department or organization’s Account/Index Code for payment of the course. Students: contact Laura Wonsik to arrange payment.
Instructors: Katherine Tylinski, PhD & Laura Wonsik, M.A., PCC from the Student Counseling Service
Deadline to register: Friday, March 17, 2023
To register or for more information use this QR code or click here:
Note: Participants must complete a 2-hour, self-paced online course (“pre-work”) prior to attending a 6-hour in-person, Instructor-led training (skills application) in order to obtain certification in Mental Health First Aid. There will be multiple breaks during the training including a one-hour lunch break (lunch is on-your-own; not provided). Space is limited to 20 participants.
Other Spring 2023 Trainings:*
5/17/23, 8:30-4:30, Location TBD
7/11/23, 8:30-4:30, Location TBD
Please email Laura Wonsik wonsiklc@miamioh.edu for any questions.
QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer)
Just as CPR helps anyone save a life in a medical emergency, QPR is a simple educational program that teaches ordinary citizens how to recognize a mental health emergency and get a person at-risk the help they need.
In these trainings, certified QPR Gatekeeper Instructors teach the three steps anyone can learn to help prevent suicide: Question, Persuade, and Refer. In just 90 minutes, you can learn to save a life.
Goals of QPR Gatekeeper Training
- Recognize the warning signs of suicide
- Learn how to offer and provide hope
- Learn how to provide help and save a life through Question, Persuade, and Refer skills
- Obtain resources available to help someone in crisis
Training Audience
The more people trained in QPR, the more lives are saved. According to the Surgeon General’s National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (2001), a gatekeeper is someone in a position to recognize a crisis and the warning signs that someone may be contemplating suicide.
Gatekeepers can be anyone, and include parents, friends, neighbors, professors, advisors, colleagues, teachers, ministers, doctors, nurses, office supervisors, police officers, caseworkers, firefighters, and many others who are strategically positioned to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide.
Register and Learn More
Option 1: Faculty and Staff
To register, visit use QR code or click here.
3/3/23, 8:30-10:00 AM - John Ward and Jennifer Young, Location Shideler 009
5/16/23, 10:30 -12 pm, Location TBD
6/7/23, 3-4:30 pm, Location TBD
Option 2: Students
If you are a Miami University student or part of a student organization, please contact the HAWKS Peer Health Educators. HAWKS provide QPR trainings for students and student groups.
Option 3: Envision Partnerships
Envision Partnerships, in collaboration with the Butler County Suicide Prevention Coalition, offers free QPR trainings. To learn how to bring a QPR Gatekeeper Training to your workplace, school, place of worship, or civic organization, contact Kristen Smith at (513) 868-2100 ext. 228 or ksmith@envisionpartnerships.com.
To sign up for an upcoming virtual training, visit the event calendar.
Other Upcoming QPR Trainings:*
*Details for upcoming trainings TBD. Please email Laura Wonsik wonsiklc@miamioh.edu to register.
Campus Assistance Program (CAP)
CAP presentations to academic departments and departmental staff meetings provide opportunities for Miami’s faculty and staff to learn how we, as a campus, can assist our students in emotional distress. Your department/center can request a CAP presentation from SCS staff. Our presentations typically are 60-90 minutes in length. The goals of CAP include:
- Educate our campus community about mental health issues facing our faculty, staff, and students.
- Increase understanding of how psychosocial struggles impact students’ academic performance, class attendance, health, and behavior.
- Assist faculty, staff, and students in identifying behaviors indicating a student may benefit from intervention.
- Teach skills to reach out to students who feel isolated, marginalized, and are less likely to seek help for their distress.
- Teach ways in which to offer and promote support services that best meet students’ needs.
- Encourage consultation with student support services throughout the university and community about referrals and case management for identified students.
Participants will learn the following steps in how to assist students in need:
- Identify--that the student is at risk
- Inquire--by personally communicating your concerns and observations
- Encourage--the student to seek help
- Refer--the student to the appropriate service
For more information contact Laura Wonsik, MA, LPCC-S, Coordinator of the Mental Health Ally Program, at 513-529-4634 or email wonsiklc@miamioh.edu.