Anna Maria includes mental health training in onboarding for resident life staff
Photo | Grant Welker
Miriam Hall at Anna Maria College in Paxton
As part of its residence life team’s onboarding process, Anna Maria College in Paxton included a mental health training for resident advisors, according to a Monday press release from the college.
The training program was part of an international curriculum, Mental Health First Aid, which is designed to destigmatize mental health and substance use problems, said the release.
It was developed by the Washington, D.C. membership organization, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
John Pratico, a professor of psychology at Anna Maria and a certified trainer under the national Mental Health First Aid program, led the onboarding initiative at the school.
Instructors must undergo a three- to five-day training program and teach the course at least three times a year to be certified, according to the Mental Health First Aid website.
“Mental health challenges come in all forms and the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on mental health are still being assessed,” Pratico said in a statement. “Our goal is to equip Residence Life staff with some fundamental strategies to help identify warning signs or know how to help someone in a mental health emergency.”
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