Education

September 2018 Self Help Calendar

Please review our September 2018 Self Help Calendar for activities and workshops this month.  If you are not yet connected with MHA, call 518-962-2077 and request an intake today.   Need someone to talk to?  Call our Hopeline at 1-800-440-8074 for 24-hour listening support.

Download the calendar here:  September 2018 Self Help Calendar

 

 

After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools, Second Edition

After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools assists schools in implementing a coordinated response to the suicide death of a student. Originally developed in 2011, the second edition includes new information and tools that middle and high schools can use to help the school community cope and reduce suicide risk. The toolkit was developed in collaboration with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and in consultation with national experts, including school-based administrators and staff, clinicians, researchers, and crisis response professionals. It is designed primarily for administrators and staff but can also be useful for parents and communities.

Link to the toolkit HERE.

 

 

Highlights of the second edition include:

  • Updated information on such topics as memorialization, social media, and contagion
  • Updated resource lists
  • A new tool to help with decision-making about memorials
  • New examples of how different communities have addressed specific issues in responding to a suicide death

If you or someone you know may be having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7 at 800-273-TALK.  To reach someone to talk to in Essex County, call the 24-hour Essex County Mental Health Services Crisis Line at 888-854-3773 or the Mental Health Association 24-hour Hopeline at 800-440-8074.  Free and confidental emotional support is always available.  With help, comes hope.

 

New Self-Help Series Starting Soon!

The next series in MHA’s Self-Help program will be Anger Management, beginning Wednesday, January 10, 2018.  This weekly series of self-help workshops is designed to be used by participants in mental health and/or substance abuse treatment programs, but all are welcome to attend.  The curriculum includes an overview of anger management, recognizing events and cues, designing your own anger control plan, learning about the agression cycle, working with a conflict resolution model, learning about anger and how it affects the family and much more.  Participants can attend as they are able, you don’t need to attend all of the sessions to be able to participate.

If you are an active member of the Mental Health Association in Essex County and would like to register for Anger Management classes, you can click here , call Kellie or Transportation at (518) 962-2077.

If you are not yet an active member of the Mental Health Association and would like to attend, please call Kathy at (518) 962-2077 and request an intake.  Please call prior to January 4, 2018 to allow sufficient time to process your intake.

Curriculum source:  Anger Management for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Clients, SAMHSA

Life Skills Support Group

Don’t go through life.
GROW through life!

Kellie Trombley, MHA’s Self-Help Advisor, recently conducted a series of groups on the topic of life skills, with the mission to remove mental health barriers to employment and education with exercises that promote practical outcomes. Participants learned about coping strategies to deal with emotional concerns while gaining knowledge about the culture of the work environment. By identifying personal strengths, participants learned about dealing with stress-related issues, becoming empowered to pursue educational and employment goals while improving general life skills.

For those who were not able to attend, please find the workshop handouts here:

Table of Contents

The Right Frame of Mind
1A Attitude
1B Motivation
1C Responsibility

How to Handle the Tough Stuff
2A Conflict Resolution
2B Dealing with Anger
2C Stress Reduction

How to Put Your Best Foot Forward
3A Communication/Non-Verbal
3B Communication/Verbal
3C Communication/Interview

The Nuts and Bolts
4A Money Management
4B Time Management
4C Decision Making

The Balancing Act
5A Setting Priorities
5B Home/Work/School
5C Family/Friends/Myself

Time to Act/Stop Procrastinating
6A My Personal Plan
6B Design a Resume

Adapted from the Life Skills Support Group Curriculum, County of Los Angeles Department of Mental Health, CALWorks Supportive Services, 2007. Find a link to the full original document here: http://passthrough.fw-notify.net/download/318796/http://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dmh/171974_LifeSkillsFinal3-18-08.pdf

 

Financial Wellness Workshops

Click on each title to access the presentations and handouts from the Financial Wellness Workshops held at MHA Westport.

Module 1 – Assessing How You Manage Money
Presentation 
Goals Worksheet 
Spending Diary 
The Money Quiz

Module 2 – Creating a Budget
Presentation 
Budget Worksheet – blank copy 
Budget Worksheet – completed example 
Budget Summary 

Module 3 – Credit
Presentation
How to Request Your Credit Report 
Credit Score Quiz
Debt Worksheet 

Module 4 – Banking
Presentation 
Sample Checks 
“Damper” Check 
Sample Checking Account Statement
Sample Checking Account Register 

Module 5 – Planning for Retirement
Presentation

Module 6 – Shopping and Housing
Presentation
Shopping Worksheet 

 

Essex County Residents now certified in Mental Health First Aid!

Congratulations to the newest group of Essex County residents certified in Mental Health First Aid! With the gorgeous backdrop of the lake as the view, they spent all day yesterday in Lake Placid learning about common mental health disorders, signs and symptoms, risk factors, how to recognize a mental health crisis, and what to do to assist a person experiencing a crisis until the situation can be deescalated and how to refer to appropriate treatment.  For more information about Mental Health First Aid, visit mentalhealthfirstaid.org.

Mental Health First Aid training, along with other mental health and suicide prevention training, is brought to Essex County by a grant through Senator Betty Little‘s office. Without these generous grant funds, the Coalition would not be able to provide community education, outreach, and many other services. Many thanks to Senator Little for making suicide prevention and mental health a priority.

Our next class is Tuesday, July 25 in Lewis. There are a couple spots available if you are interested in attending. Register at https://mhainessex.wufoo.com/forms/mhfa-lewis-72517/

Postvention Resources

 

One of the services provided by the Essex County Suicide Prevention Coalition includes postvention response.

What is Postvention?

Postvention is a term often used in the suicide prevention field. The definition below is from the U.S. national guidelines developed by the Survivors of Suicide Loss Task Force.
Postvention is an organized response in the aftermath of a suicide(or other traumatic loss) to accomplish any one or more of the following:

-To facilitate the healing of individuals from the grief and distress of suicide loss
-To mitigate other negative effects of exposure to suicide
-To prevent suicide among people who are at high risk after exposure to suicide

To contact the Coalition about postvention services, support for family members, co-workers, or friends or others who may be grieving, call the Hopeline at 800-440-8074 or make an online referral here https://mhainessex.wufoo.com/forms/mobile-crisis-referral/.

 

Here are some resources that might be helpful following a suicide or traumatic loss:

Youth Responses to Death and How to Help

Managers-Guidebook-To-Suicide-Postvention

what to say what not to say 2

The Shock of Loss

Social-Work-Tech-Seven-Stages-of-Grief

RX for Recovery

What to tell children

Mourner’s Bill of Rights

Helping Survivor’s of Suicide Loss 

Coping With the Loss of a Loved One

If you or someone you know might be having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255), Essex County Mental Health Crisis line at 888-854-3773 or the MHA Hopeline at 800-440-8074. All lines are 24/7, free and confidential.

 

Coalition provides services for those affected by tragedy in Lake Placid

Suicide Prevention Coalition provides outreach and postvention services

A representative from the Essex County Suicide Prevention Coalition was in Lake Placid today visiting local businesses, schools and individuals to provide resources on mental health services, grief processing, self-care after a tragedy and suicide prevention.  Anyone wishing to schedule an in-person visit can call the Mental Health Association at 962-2077 or email shelby@mhainessex.org.