Youth mental health training coming to WHS

Barb Seaman closely interacts with teenagers on a daily basis in her role as Washougal High School’s library media instructor. As such, she sees them when they’re at their best and she sees them at their worst. Lately, she’s seen more of the latter.

“The mental health challenges our youth face are prevalent everywhere,” Seaman said. “There’s anxiety, depression, stress and uncertainty. They’re learning about socializing and getting along (with each other), and that can be hard. Older students need to make decisions about what direction to go after they graduate. And the pandemic was hard on everyone. I just have this sense that kids need a lot of support from all of the adults in their lives.”

So when Seaman heard that Lifeline Connections, a Vancouver-based nonprofit organization that provides care to individuals who experience substance abuse or mental illness, was looking for locations to host its revived youth mental health first aid program, she knew that it had to come to Washougal if possible.

Lifeline Connections is partnering with the Washougal School District and the East County Citizens Alliance (ECCA) nonprofit organization to provide free youth mental health training to adults who regularly interact with teenagers.

“I think this is important because in the school setting, a student can’t learn when they’re having a mental health problem,” Seaman said. “I see it as our job to be aware of that and find ways to support them so they can get back to learning and growing as soon as possible. That’s why this mental health first aid training appeals to me.”

The sessions will take place from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays (April 18, April 25 and May 2) at the Washougal High School Library.

“It’s helpful for us to be informed about common mental health concerns among the young members of our community,” said Seaman, an ECCA volunteer. “It’s helpful for those of us who work with kids to recognize signs and symptoms of mental health problems. I feel it’s important to have an understanding of how to interact with them and how to connect them with the help they need. The goal for this training is not to learn how to solve whatever problem they’re experiencing, but to know how to respond with understanding and reassurance in the moment, and to provide guidance for them to get appropriate help.”

Youth mental health first aid is an evidence-based program that teaches adults how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among children and adolescents ages 12 to 18, according to Lifeline Connections.

“Youth mental health first aid is a wonderful resource because it’s designed to be much like a first aid course or CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), where you know what to do in the interim, serving as a bridge and connecting somebody (in need) to appropriate care,” said Jilana Nunn, Lifeline Connections’ mental health awareness training program Coordinator. “And a lot of times, we see people are much more confident to speak about physical health than mental health, so this is really about empowering the community.”

The training will help attendees to recognize common signs and symptoms of mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and symptoms of substance use challenges; understand how to interact with a young person in crisis; know how to connect a young person with help; and better understand trauma, substance use, self-care and the impact of social media and bullying.

“One of the most protective factors (for kids) is an adult that they can trust and just talk to,” Nunn said. “It would be terrible if a young person is ready to talk and the adult has no idea what to say or even how to listen. I think the number right now is one in five children ages 13 to 18 will have a mental illness, so we know that this is necessary. With suicide being the second-leading cause of death for young people, absolutely we need to be talking about this, and adults need to be available.”

The training fits perfectly with ECCA’s mission to “build community”, according to founder Melanie Wilson.

“We’ve had mentors and tutors in Washougal High School since November, and the youth mental health first aid training is really an outgrowth of that,” Wilson said. “What’s so important about this training is that it represents a whole-community response to mental health challenges in young people. It’s not just about training school staff to notice and respond to signs of depression, anxiety, and other potential mental health issues in teens. It’s about training many people in the community across different sectors — coaches, youth pastors, librarians, bus drivers, Scout leaders, parents, and anyone else who has regular contact with youth.”

Lifeline Connections received a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that will provide funding for the program for the next five years.

“There’s been more and more funding coming down for both youth mental health and youth substance use disorder treatment, and as a result of that, LifeLine has been able to put teams into some of the high schools here in the Vancouver area to address that,” said Shannon Edgel, Lifeline Connections’ marketing supervisor. “In the last couple of years, we opened an outpatient mental health department for youth. At the beginning of this year, (that department) had 50 open slots and today it has five. That tells you that there is a huge need out there. Thank goodness there is a lot of attention and quite a bit of funding coming down to help these kids.”

To register for the sessions, visit tinyurl.com/2s4x956.

“Washougal High School and the East County Citizens’ Alliance have invited people from other organizations, and the session is still accepting additional people to register,” said Les Brown, the Washougal School District’s director of communications and technology. “If there is sufficient demand, additional sessions could be added in the future.”