Mental Health First Aid Initiative

St. Petersburg College is offering Mental Health First Aid in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Community Foundation Tampa Bay (CFTB). This training is provided for FREE to public service professionals.

Mental Health First Aid, known as the CPR of mental health, is a national certification through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

This initiative aims to:

• Address common mental health concerns
• Reduce stigma
• Teach strategies to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health or substance use challenges and offer support
• Offer self-help strategies for staying mentally well

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What is Mental Health First Aid?

Think of Mental Health First Aid as the CPR of mental health. It is a national certification through the National Council for Behavioral Health that is proven to be effective. Peer-reviewed studies show that individuals trained in the program:

• Grow knowledge of signs, symptoms, and risk factors of mental health challenges and addictions
• Can identify multiple types of professional and self-help resources for individuals with a mental health challenge or addiction
• Increase their confidence in and likelihood to help an individual in distress
• Show increased mental wellness themselves

What does it cost?

Community Foundation Tampa Bay is providing the training free of charge through St. Petersburg College to those who work in public service including:

• Nonprofits
• Faith-based organizations
• Schools (K-12 or higher education)
• First response (e.g., fire fighters, law enforcement, medical personnel, etc.)
• Veterans’ organizations

Who can use Mental Health First Aid?

Anyone! Mental Health First Aid training is similar to CPR training. It helps people identify, understand, and respond to someone who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge. This training is available to organizations and individuals in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties.   

How to become certified?

Mental Health First Aid certification is about an 8-hour training. With this training, participants complete a self-paced introduction to the material online that takes about two hours. The real-time virtual or in-person instruction, with between 10 and 30 people in the training class, takes around six hours in one day.

A private training of 10-30 participants can be coordinated at your organization by contacting the Project Coordinator at corde.joanna@spcollege.edu.

Questions?

This program is being administered through St. Petersburg College (SPC). For more information or questions, please contact Joanna Corde, SPC’s ACT-TB Project Coordinator at corde.joanna@spcollege.edu or 727-341-3640.

Disclaimer: This product was developed in part under grant number 1H79SM084729 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or HHS.