National Council Teams with Kate Spade New York for Mental Health First Aid Training
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 25, 2018) – The National Council for Mental Wellbeing has teamed with Kate Spade New York to train the company’s human resources and corporate staff in Mental Health First Aid, Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO of the National Council announced today. The trainings will take place at the company’s New York headquarters over the course of this year.
The company’s increased focus on mental health comes in the wake of their founder’s death by suicide earlier this year. While other causes of death are declining, the suicide rate keeps climbing, alarmingly so. Nearly 45,000 Americans died by suicide in 2016 – that’s one person every 12 minutes.
“We spend about a third of our adult lives working, and Mental Health First Aid is a kick-starter for creating a mentally healthy workplace,” Rosenberg said. “Many workplaces have a defibrillator and have trained their employees in how to use it. They know how to summon help for a physical ailment. But you are much more likely to see someone in the throws of a mental health or addiction crisis than you are to see someone having a heart attack.”
The eight-hour, experiential Mental Health First Aid training helps individuals learn how to start a conversation about mental health and substance use problems and reach out to their colleagues in need. This is not just good for employees’ health – it’s good for the company’s bottom line. One in five American adults has a mental illness, and 40 percent of them take time off work because of it. Depression and anxiety alone result in $1 trillion in lost productivity to the global economy. The good news is that every $1 in treatment returns $4 in improved health and productivity. “We haven’t a moment to lose because not addressing our problems on the job is literally making us sick,” Rosenberg said.
A survey conducted by Glamour magazine found that 53 percent of women who responded don’t feel comfortable talking about their mental health concerns with others, and only 14 percent said they would speak to someone in their office if they felt anxious or depressed. Mental Health First Aid helps people connect to one another. After training in Mental Health First Aid, employees report increased confidence in their ability to recognize signs of someone who may be dealing with a mental health or substance use challenge, provide them with reassurance and information and connect them to appropriate professional help and other resources. Many who take a Mental Health First Aid course find the strategies useful in dealing with their own challenges, as well.
For more information about Mental Health First Aid, or to find a course near you, visit www.MentalHealthFirstAid.org.
