Event Details

Introduction to Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)

Mental health and well-being are key to a healthy, productive workforce, but each year, almost one in five American adults experiences a mental health disorder that impacts them at home and work. This may be increasing due to changes stemming from COVID-19. Therefore, it is more important now, more than ever, for employers to make mental health a priority. Luckily, the Mental Health First Aid movement has been gaining traction in workplaces across the country. More and more, through this training, organizations are equipping their teams with skills on how to recognize symptoms of mental health problems, how to offer and provide initial help, and how to guide a person towards appropriate treatments. 

In this session we will:

• Discuss the prevalence of mental health illnesses and their impact on the workplace
• Engage in an interactive activity to practice listening nonjudgmentally
• Provide a brief overview of what is covered in the 8-Hour Certified Mental Health Training
• Share information on how your organization can start and support the mental health first aid movement.

Co-presenters:

Elaine Vandenburgh was first introduced to Mental Health First Aid training in her former role where she helped organizations with workforce planning and training. The class was life changing! Within weeks, Elaine found herself using the training at work and responding to mental health crisis until professional help arrived. Was it a coincidence that she suddenly came across mental health emergencies? Or were these red flags always there and now she was more aware and could respond to the mental health needs of those around her?

Wanting to learn more, Elaine dug deeper and asked more questions. Could I have helped more people during the 10+ years of my time in higher education? What would the world look like if Mental Health First Aid training was as common as CPR? In this world, how would we approach own mental health and the mental health of those around us?

Elaine is grateful to continue exploring these questions as part of her role as the Healthcare Education Director for Minnesota State’s HealthForce Center of Excellence. “Increasing Mental Health training is paramount to the success of our state’s students, faculty, communities, and industry partners.” Elaine is now a certified mental health first aid instructor and excited to share the training with others.

Elaine has an M.B.A and holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. Elaine is a Leadership Twin Cities alumna and former volunteer with Achieve Mpls., an organization that works to close the achievement gap in Minneapolis Public Schools. She is also a certified yoga instructor and is currently pursuing her coach practitioner certification.

Kate Noelke serves as Director of Integrated Wellness at Winona State University. In her day-to-day, she focuses on coalition building for innovative ways to support the dynamic intersections of well-being and success, across cultures, experiences, values, and health conditions. Using a public health approach rooted in population-based equity initiatives, Kate strengthens access to networks of support on campus and across MN. Kate is also a passionate Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid trainer, with over 700 successful students! Kate is married to her best friend, a bonus-mom to two rad teenage girls, a proud lover of her dogs and barn cats, and a backyard chicken lady. She has a joint appointment at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, teaching in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Public Health programs. When she isn’t teaching or administering public health in higher education, she is outside biking (365 days a year), skiing, gardening, hiking, paddling, cooking yummy snacks for the folks she loves, and serving as a resource, advocate and mentor for young leaders in higher education and public health fields.

Pending approval for 1 PDC for SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP. 

Click here to register!