The Missouri Institute of Mental Health at the University of Missouri–St. Louis helped set the example last month as three Missouri residents became the state’s first deaf Americans certified as Mental Health First Aid instructors. Up to now, only one other state (Pennsylvania) has certified deaf MHFA instructors.
Colleen Burdiss, De Linda Kelly and James Frost earned the certification on April 17 after attending a week-long training led by MIMH’s Jermine Alberty and Rachel Christiansen. Nearly 15 newly certified instructors, made up of health professionals, teachers and police officers, resulted.
For Burdiss, adult program manager with Paraquad in St. Louis, her husband’s own mental health crisis was a motivating factor to take the class. Once, he was taken to the emergency room and restrained because his gesticulations were interpreted as aggressive. Burdiss had to explain that her husband was not being aggressive. He was merely deaf, like her, and his movements were part of his speech.
“If I wasn’t there,” Burdiss said, “it would have been impossible. Even something as simple as identification would have been a problem. I had to explain sign language and how we express emotion with it to both the hospital staff and the police.”
As the new cohort of MHFA instructors learned, intervening in a crisis is almost always about communication. Each activity in their training was imbued with aspects of the MHFA action plan that emphasizes listening and providing clear information.
“This is a hands-on approach,” said Christopher Koester, a St. Louis County Police Officer and member of the Crisis Intervention Team. “With Mental Health First Aid, we’re given the tools to quickly assess a situation and provide a clear route to intervention and help. It’ll really help on our end.”
Reviewed 2015-06-01