Participants who recently completed CommunityMinds training, pictured with their certificates

PEOPLE EXPERIENCING mental health difficulties in County Wexford will have the trained support of almost 60 members of the community at hand from May of this year, thanks to Mental Health First Aid Courses facilitated by local movement CommunityMinds.

Participants of a course held in Wexford recently learned how to offer initial help to someone developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is delivered until appropriate professional support is received or the crisis resolves itself.

The CommunityMinds movement was initiated in 2016 as a means of building a network of individuals living and working within their communities who would be trained to become first responders and advocates for positive mental health and wellbeing.

Founders Leonard Kelly, Vincent Byrne and Alan and Bernadette Doolan wished to bring to the people of Wexford a programme which is now available in over 20 countries worldwide.

Training was first delivered locally last year, in partnership with Mental Health First Aid Ireland and the HSE.

The course covers emerging mental health difficulties, including: depression, anxiety, psychosis and susbstance misuse, as well as mental health crisis situations including: suicidal thoughts and behaviours; self-harm; panic attacks; traumatic events; severe psychotic states; severe effects of alcohol or other drug use and aggressive behaviours.

Read more in the Wexford Echo.