Mental Health Training for U.S. County Employees

Each U.S. county is unique, from the community members it serves to the people delivering those services. But one challenge that all counties face is how to best support the mental wellbeing of their communities.

You can help your county employees become healthier and more engaged with Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training. In doing so, you can help achieve county mental wellbeing goals, like:

  • Increasing employee productivity, morale and retention.
  • Creating a positive workplace culture that embraces the mental wellbeing of all employees.
  • Implementing best practices for self-care and building a resilient mindset.
  • Building a common and approachable language around mental health in the workplace.

What is Mental Health First Aid?

MHFA is a skills-based training administered by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing that teaches people how to identify, understand and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges in their peers, friends and colleagues.

Since launching our partnership in 2022, we’ve been proud to collaborate with the National Council to offer MHFA to support the mental wellbeing of county employees and elected officials. Together, we are creating a framework for counties to destigmatize mental health and substance use challenges as they provide residents with more equitable access to quality mental health and substance use treatment services.

The National Council’s workplace-specific training program, MHFA at Work, will teach your county employees how to notice and support an individual who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge or crisis in their work environment and connect them with appropriate employee and community resources. Download the one-pager to learn more.

Download the One-Pager Download the Brochure

What MFA Covers

  • Noticing signs and symptoms of substance use and mental health challenges.
  • Navigating difficult conversations about mental health.
  • Knowing that recovery is possible – and how to support it.
  • Tackling mental health stigma in the workplace.
  • Understanding principles of safety and privacy. Building resilience and strategies to alleviate burnout.
  • Implementing a 5-step MHFA Action Plan.
  • Reinforcing relevant Employee Resource Groups,employee benefits and HR initiatives

Who Should Take It

  • County employees at all levels, including elected officials and county staff across all departments and organizations.
  • Human resources and benefits partners, senior leaders and front-line managers.
  • First responders including law enforcement, corrections officers, fire and EMS services
  • Hospital and nursing home staff
  • School teachers, administrators and youth-serving staff

Sign Up to Receive More Information

To learn more, complete the form to request additional information, visit MentalHealthFirstAid.org or email MHFA_NACo@TheNationalCouncil.org.

Program Contact

Image of Spencer-Bridgers.jpg

Spencer Taylor

National Director of Operations, NACo EDGE

Sources

Coe, E., Cordina, J., Enomoto, K., Seshan, N. (2021, July 23). Overcoming stigma: three strategies toward better mental health in the workplace. McKinsey Quarterly. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/overcoming-stigma-three-strategies-toward-better-mental-health-in-the-workplace

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). (n.d.). Mental illness. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness

National Association of Counties. (n.d.) Behavioral health matters to counties. https://www.naco.org/sites/default/files/documents/NACo%20Behavioral%20Health%20Priorities.pdf

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