Helping in a Mental Health Crisis MHA

About the Course

Because mental health crises are so common, Psych Hub decided to create a course that will help anyone to accurately describe signs of a mental health crisis and identify practical skills that may be used to support someone who needs help. This approximately 1 hour course is full of live-filmed and animated videos, as well as learner focused activities and up-to-date statistics from governing bodies and relevant scholarly articles. After finishing this course, we believe you will be able to notice signs of a mental health crisis, substance overdose or withdrawal, or suicide risk. You should also be able to list community resources for crisis support and link individuals with the help they need.

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Course Overview

  • Estimated Course Length: 1 Hour
  • Course Includes: 16 sections with components in each section (components consist of a mixed media approach with lived experience videos, animation explainer videos and a knowledge game). 
  • Target Audience: Individuals, Employers, Caregivers, First Responders, Teachers, Attorneys, and other pertinent professionals
  • Level of Instruction: Introductory 
  • Prerequisite: None
  • Instructional Method: Self-paced, interactive, hybrid of audio, text, video, and learning checks 
  • Accessibility Accommodations: Closed captioning of all audio and video components

Learning Objectives

Course Learning Objectives:

What the learner should know upon course completion:

  1. Accurately describe signs that indicate an individual is experiencing a mental health crisis, substance overdose or withdrawal, or suicide risk.
  2. List community resources for crisis support and link individuals with the appropriate type of support.
  3. Identify practical skills that can be used to support an individual experiencing a mental health crisis, including communication, de-escalation, and screening techniques.

Course Outline

Pre-Course Assessment (~3 minutes) 

Introduction (~3 minutes)

Tips from Peer Support Specialists (~11 minutes)

De-Escalation (~3 minutes)

How to Respond (~3 minutes)

Substance Withdrawal (~8 minutes)

Sources of Crisis Support (~7 minutes)

After a Crisis (~3 minutes)

Conclusion (~1 minute)

Post-Course Assessment (~3 minutes) 

Participant Evaluation (5-10 minutes)

Experts


Abigail Asper, MSW

Abigail Asper was Psych Hub's Clinical Research Manager from 2019 to 2021. During her time at Psych Hub she was responsible for ensuring that Psych Hub videos and learning hubs are evidence-based, clinically  sound, and trauma-informed as well, overseeing Psych Hub content research and continuing education initiatives.  Along with lived experience of mental illness and losing a loved one to suicide, Ms. Asper has years of professional  experience in mental health, social justice, and clinical settings. She earned a B.S. in Psychology from College of  Charleston Honors College and a Master’s in Social Work from Fordham University Graduate School of Social  Service. Before joining the Psych Hub team, she worked as an NGO Representative to the United Nations for the  International Federation of Social Workers, a case manager on an assertive community treatment team for older  adults with serious mental illnesses, a victim advocate at a rape crisis center, and a phone counselor at a crisis  hotline. She is also a published author, editor, and researcher. Most recently, she was an editor of Behavioral Science  in the Global Arena, Volume I , a text for which she authored two chapters: “Migrant Adaptation and Well-Being” and  “Gender Equity and Reproductive Justice”.