Mental Health First Aid

There is a growing awareness in society about the importance of good mental health and its impact upon our work and daily life. Concordia Plans has addressed this need through the provision of several initiatives to make counseling and mental health a priority for church workers and congregation members. One of these initiatives has been the provision of Mental Health First Aid training. Kelly Menke from Concordia Plans has teamed up with Missouri District Church Worker Health staff member Marty Hasz to become facilitators for Mental Health First Aid training among church workers and staff in Missouri. You don’t need to be a Concordia Plans member to receive the training; it is offered for any church worker.

The target audience for the training are those in administrative and leadership positions: pastors, school administrators, counselors, church/school receptionists and secretaries. In the future they may be able to offer training for lay leaders, but they are starting with church workers for now.

The program equips people to have a simple approach to recognize, support and refer people to help when they recognize that there is a mental health challenge: ongoing or momentary. The website: mentalhealthfirstaid.org provides additional information on the program and its impact.

Participants are trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental distress. The training uses the ALGEE action plan: Approach non-judgmentally, Listen in a helpful way, Give reassurance with information, Encourage toward professional help, and Encourage self-help or other resources.

A recent training at the International Center involved church and school workers, chaplains, and staff from the LCMS, LCEF and LHM. An upcoming session at the Missouri District Office on October 11 will be provided for school administrators and education workers of the Missouri District. The facilitators also plan to provide virtual training for those at a distance who would like to receive training. They can do training for 15-30 people, but prefer smaller groups for better interaction. For the schedule of upcoming trainings or for more information, contact Marty Hasz at marty.hasz@mo.lcms.org.

Marty Hasz says about the program, “This program brings the complicated challenges of the stewardship of our mental health to a manageable process. The ALGEE action plan approach keeps it simple when times are tough. It increases the number of people who are caring for our workers and congregation members. And the training includes suicide prevention training components.”