At the Mental Health First Aid for New Jersey Partner Summit at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, speakers argued to expand mental health first aid training.
PRINCETON -- If a friend or family member was suffering from such serious anxiety they could not leave the house or had suicidal thoughts, would you know what to do?
More than 100 New Jersey business and health leaders argued Wednesday that no, one would likely not know what to do.
Not unless you are trained in "mental health first aid."
That was the topic at a summit this week at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, where speakers argued that there is a statewide need to expand access to the public education program which teaches risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems.
They also want to bring awareness to Mental Health First - a class.
The Mental Health Association of New Jersey sponsored the event, called The Mental Health First Aid for New Jersey Partners Summit.
Speaker William L. Lovett, Executive Director, New Jersey YMCA State Alliance. (Courtesy of Mental Health Association in New Jersey) "Mental Health First Aid was introduced in the U.S. in 2008 and, to date, hundreds of thousands of people from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have taken the course," the Mental Health association said in a statement.
"The course is offered to a variety of audiences, including hospital staff, employees and business leaders, faith communities and law enforcement," the association said.
The course is eight hours and uses role playing and demonstrations to teach its five-step "action plan" called ALGEE - Assess for risk of suicide or harm, Listen non judgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage appropriate professional help and Encourage self-help and other support strategies.
Among the state's 8.7 million residents, about one in five people experience a mental health problem each year, the association says.
In 2012, a youth division was set up to teach others how to help children ages 12 to 18 suffering from mental health issues, the Mental Health First Aid USA organization said.
At Wednesday's summit, prominent state and national leaders spoke on such topics as advancing mental health awareness in New Jersey, fighting stigmas associated with mental health issues and gaining first-hand perspective from the field of mental health.
President and CEO Linda Rosenberg of the National Council for Behavioral Health - the Washington D.C.-based organization that helped launch the Mental Health First Aid program - spoke at the summit on "a national vision for Mental Health First Aid."
"Mental health problems affect nearly 60 million people in the U.S., yet the vast majority never receive care due to stigma, lack of understanding and system inadequacies," the Mental Health association said.
"We ask everyone to join this growing effort and bring Mental Health First Aid's message of hope, acceptance, support and prevention to the youth and adults dealing with mental and behavioral problems in New Jersey, as well as their loved ones," the Mental Health association said.
The Mental Health Association in New Jersey is made up of 15 stakeholders including behavioral health providers, community health gatekeepers and statewide prevention organizations.
The group's next projects include a day-long symposium at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in April to train 150 leaders in mental health first aid and then a summer, week-long event to certify 35 new program instructors.
Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.