Centenary University’s Counseling Center has been awarded a grant from The Hackettstown Medical Center Community Advisory Board to provide Mental Health First Aid training to members of the university and the larger Warren County community.

The grant will allow Centenary to conduct conduct eight sessions and train up to 200 participants over the next year.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training is an international program that teaches the skills to respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse. Topics covered in the training are depression and mood disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma, and psychosis and suicide prevention. More than a million people have been trained across the United States.

In addition to its campus community, Centenary plans to open up training sessions to local high school educators, police officers, hospital personnel, and other interest groups. Each community training will be specifically designed to meet the unique needs of participating groups.

“Our goal is to make awareness of Mental Health First Aid training as common as CPR,” Kerry Mullins, vice president for student life and dean of students said. “When we increase the percentage of civilians who are trained, we have more people equipped with the skills to assist others who are in crisis.”

Centenary last conducted MHFA training for 79 faculty members, staff, and students during the 2017-2018 academic year. Mullins said that 100% of participants rated the training as very helpful, while one alumnus—who is now a police officer—reported that he used the skills he developed in dealing with a difficult mental health emergency on the job.