National Council Launches Mental Health First Aid for Vets

Last week, the National Council for Behavioral Health (National Council) launched Mental Health First Aid for Veterans, a new training program that offers veterans resources to effectively recognize and react to mental illness and addiction.  

According to the National Council, “thirty percent of active duty and reserve military personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan have mental health conditions requiring treatment,” which accounts for approximately 730,000 men and women (2014b). This fueled the need for a program designed for service members that could break the stigma of mental illness, provide community resources, and educate those in need of health care options and treatments available. 

Mental Health First Aid is an eight-hour training program with separate tracks for youth and for adults. It features hands on activities, a resource manual, an overview of local mental health resources, and ALGEE, a five-step action plan (National Council, 2014a). 

Mental Health First Aid for Veterans trainings will begin in Dubuque, Iowa, on April 30; Brookfield, Wisconsin, on May 2; and Dallas, Texas, on May 16, with additional courses to be added across the country. 

For more information on Mental Health First Aid for Veterans, click here. 

To view the Mental Health First Aid for Veterans fact sheet, click here.

 

References  

 

National Council for Behavioral Health. (2014a). Course types. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/cs/take-a-course/course-types/

 

National Council for Behavioral Health. (2014b). Veterans and military. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/cs/veterans-military/