Trigger for Mental Health Training

TWELVE local police will undergo mental health first aid training this weekend, thanks to the support of the Where There’s A Will Foundation and the Belltrees v Rouchel charity cricket match earlier this year.

While police undergo education in mental health intervention the mental health first aid course will build on those skills and recognise a mental health issue when they are in the community.

Chief Inspector Guy Guiana, who has already completed the training provided by Where there’s a Will, said if police are aware of the early signs of mental ill health it may trigger a different way to respond to the situations they encounter.

“If we’ve dealt with an adolescent on multiple occasions, we may be able to say to families that the issue goes beyond being a bad person, that it’s about someone needing assistance with their mental health,” Chief Inspector Guiana said.

“You can never have too much training in the area of mental health especially when you’re a first responder,” he said.

“We have a deep appreciation for the community providing us with the opportunity to complete this training,” he said.

“With the broader community having a better general understanding of mental health issues, people are starting to identify that things aren’t always a police matter.

“With the level of knowledge that now exists, some of those early interventions are being redirected to health rather than police, people aren’t calling the police first time every time,” he said.

“The approach of the general public as well as the police is changing towards mental health,” Guy Guiana said.

The Where There’s A Will Foundation estimate 1 in 40 adults in the Upper Hunter can now recognise the signs and symptoms of mental illness and how to help.