Class Descriptions and Instructor Information

These classes and programs address mental health and suicide awareness and prevention.

 

Classes focused on seniors, youth, or parents will also be added. The trainers are certified for the programs they are leading and are or have been members of our Mountain community.

 

You can take one or more. Mental Health First Aid is certificate-level training, but you don't have to be interested in a certificate to take it.

 

Any business, group, or organization can schedule one of these trainings or create your own training.

 

For more information or help registering, call 303-578-8033

 

Q. P. R.             

Q. P. R. stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide.      

                   

Suicidal thoughts are common. Suicide threats and attempts are less common but much more frequent than most people realize. Suicide is the most common psychiatric emergency and a leading cause of death in America and around the world.

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By learning QPR, you will come to recognize the warning signs, clues, and suicidal communications of people in trouble and gain skills to act vigorously to prevent a possible tragedy.

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If you are a professional caregiver, first responder, school staff, volunteer, or public-facing employee of any number of businesses, you are very likely to have come in contact with suicidal people.  Much like CPR or the Heimlich maneuver, the fundamentals of QPR are easily learned and may save a life.

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Course: 90 munites. Materials provided. Food is provided when a session is held during a mealtime. 

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safeTALK

SafeTALK is an acronym that stands for Suicide Alertness For Everyone – Tell, Ask, Listen, KeepSafe. 

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SafeTALK is a half-day (3-4 hours) training in suicide prevention. The course aims to help you recognize when a loved one or person is having thoughts of suicide and how to connect them with resources to help them choose life. SafeTALK stresses safety while challenging taboos that inhibit open talk about suicide.  

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During the SafeTALK course, you will learn valuable intervention resources and tools to identify and avert suicide risks – such as: 

• Noticing and responding to situations where suicidal thoughts may be present 

• Recognizing that invitations for help are often overlooked 

• Moving beyond the common tendency to miss, dismiss, and avoid the topic of suicide 

• Applying the TALK steps (Tell, Ask, Listen, KeepSafe)  

• Knowing where to find community resources (like health care professionals, first responders, or crisis line workers) and how to connect someone with thoughts of suicide to them for further suicide-safer help

 

Course:  4 hours plus a meal. Materials provided. 

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Mental Health First Aid 

MHFA is an evidence-based, early-intervention course that teaches participants about mental health and substance use challenges.

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It’s a course that teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.

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Mental Health First Aiders are…
Teachers, first responders, and veterans. Mental health first aiders are neighbors, parents, and friends. They’re people in recovery and those supporting a loved one. Mental Health First Aiders are anyone who wants to make their community healthier, happier, and safer for all.

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This is certificate-level training, including modules for youth, parents, and community members serving youth and possibly one for seniors/caretakers. Modules may not come with certification.

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Course:  2 hours pre-work. 6 hours plus a meal. Materials provided.

 

Instructors

John Kellow has over 27 years of experience in mental health, having worked in both inpatient psychiatric facilities and provided psychiatric triage in medical settings. While completing over 13,000 psychiatric and substance abuse assessments, he identified a crucial pattern in crisis situations. Recognizing the pivotal moments in individuals' lives where timely mental health support could have averted or intervened in crises, he embarked on a mission. 

 

In 2013, John became a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructor and played a pivotal role as a founding member of Supporting Action for Mental Health (SAMh) in Longmont. Over six years, he passionately trained over 2,000 community members in MHFA, QPR, SafeTALK and actively engaged in numerous community events and conversations. His primary objective was to enhance community awareness regarding effective support for those facing mental health challenges. In 2018 John was recognized as the MHFA instructor of the year for Colorado.

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Janaki Jane has a degree in Psychology, a Graduate Certificate in Theology, and is a published neurologist. She spent over twenty years learning, practicing, and teaching psychological, physical,and spiritual healing techniques internationally, and has worked professionally in disaster recovery and public health pandemic response. She has been teaching various suicide prevention classes since 2018, and created and ran the Wide Spaces Community Initiative, supporting mental and community health in the Lyons area, from 2015 to 2021. Her own struggles with depression, Complex PTSD, anxiety, and suicidality inform her work and her life.

 

Janaki has been a Tibetan Buddhist for over 25 years, and her daily practice is essential to her work and her life. She lives off the utilities grid in a 960 square foot cabin in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with her husband of 30 years. She loves the silence of living up high in the forest where she sees the high peaks out her front windows, and her neighbors are the moose, foxes, mule deer, rabbits, bears, and birds who allow her to share their home. They also tolerate her attempts to track them through the snow, mud, and forest in all seasons of the year. Through the techniques and wisdom shared in this book, she has helped others to heal, supported community healing, and has transformed her own life to one filled with wonder, satisfaction, and accomplishment.

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For more information email katrina@p2phhs.org or call 303-578-8033