A one-day training provided by Texas A&M University-San Antonio is equipping staff at schools and colleges with first-aid skills for mental health.
The training comes at a time when more children and young adults are experiencing elevated levels of anxiety, stress, and depression.
“We really believe that this is a skill set for everybody,” said Stephen Lenz, the program’s director and a professor of clinical mental health counseling at the university. “This is a skill set that just is one of those things that is a protective factor for your community, for as many people as possible.”
A&M-San Antonio offers two types of training: one for K-12 staff, and one for higher education.
Lenz said many of his own colleagues have been through the training. “We've been able to train folks in these really key areas that a lot of students come and go in. For instance, we've trained our Residence Life advisors,” he explained. “We're working with folks in admissions offices. We're working with folks who support and supervise our career services, and academic advising.”
The program is called the South Bexar County Mental Health Awareness Project.
It targets training for staff who interact with students — from bus drivers to advisors — on the South Side of San Antonio, where the university is located. A&M-San Antonio has several initiatives to address longstanding inequities in access to health care.
Lenz said the training teaches participants to recognize early signs and symptoms of mental illness and substance abuse.
“Things that may represent a crisis in the moment, or something that may eventually become a crisis, or what is just typical student development and typical student experiences,” Lenz said.
Then, they teach participants what to do when they recognize those early signs, and practice how to respond through case studies and simulations.
“Offer that listening ear, give them information and reassurance, and then help link them to some supports that are available,” Lenz said.
One of the goals of the training is to have enough people trained to recognize signs of a mental health concern that a student in need can be helped before they reach the point where they might consider suicide.
“It's about raising that critical level of awareness within your community, across the number of individuals and in the spaces where they are,” Lenz said. “It's also about empowering our participants to act. And that action that we're attempting to empower is really just reaching out.”
Lenz said the idea of mental health first aid is to be someone who can offer information and reassurance and then connect the person to a professional.
The training is in the second year of a three-year program, training at least 300 people a year. Lenz said they’re hoping to extend the program by embedding it in the university’s curriculum and staff development.
“We're always interested in partnerships that will extend the lifespan of this program, so that we can extend the impact,” Lenz said.
Four in 10 high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2023, according to a national survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two in 10 high schoolers seriously considered attempting suicide.
More than 40% of college students experienced depression symptoms in 2023, according to an annual survey of college students across the country. Nearly 15% had serious thoughts of suicide.
The University of Texas at San Antonio is doubling down on mental health support after a doctoral student died of a likely suicide on Nov. 6. UTSA canceled class on Nov. 8 for a campus-wide Day of Reflection.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988.
