TOLEDO, Ohio — A team of experts at the University of Toledo are working to provide first aid training for mental health.
UToledo's Dean of the College of Nursing, Linda Lewandowski, is part of that team. She said the mental health crisis has really come to the forefront in the last 12 months.
"Mental health problems have just increased so much with COVID and all of the events of the past year," Lewandowski said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Jan. through June of 2019, the number of adults reporting anxiety and depression was at 11%. In Dec. 2020, the CDC had found that number jumped to 42%.
Lewandowski said she believes people should know how to recognize and help someone who is struggling.
"Rates of post-traumatic stress are up, substance abuse is definitely up, opioid overdoses are up; so we know this is a pressing public health problem in the United States," she said.
The mental health training is free for anyone, thanks to a federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Lewandowski said it is just like first-aid and CPR training, and it's something we should all be educated in.
"It helps you to recognize some of the signs and things that you would see, some of the things you should tune in to," Lewandowski said.
To find more information about the university's mental health first-aid training, click here.
If you're interested in registering for those classes, you can sign up by clicking here.
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