WASHINGTON, March 11 (UPI) -- One in five U.S. residents has a diagnosable mental illness and a five-step process helps lay people assess a mental-health crisis, a mental-health group says.
Organizers of Mental Health First Aid say since the tragedy in Tucson and speculation over actor Charlie Sheen's mental health there is increased interest in learning about the risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses such as anxiety, depression, psychosis and addiction.
Just as CPR training helps a lay person with no clinical training assist patients after a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid training helps a lay person assist someone experiencing a mental-health crisis until appropriate professional help arrives via an interactive 12-hour course.
Participants learn a single five-step strategy that includes assessing risk, respectfully listening to and supporting the individual in crisis, and identifying appropriate professional help and other support.
"You might know first-aid like the Heimlich Maneuver or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but the hard truth is you are more likely to encounter a person in an emotional crisis than someone having a heart attack," Bryan Gibb, an instructor and director of public education at the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, says in a statement. "Mental disorders are more common than you think -- nearly 20 percent of Americans have a diagnosable mental illness."
For a list of cities offering the course see www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org.
