Learning to Listen to Distressed Classmates – NYTimes.com. Abigail Sullivan Moore reports Friday, April 15th.

“I can tell the difference between someone tired who has a lot of work and someone who is dreading the next 24 hours, the next week,” observes Mr. Sullivan. “It’s kind of like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for them. It’s not like ‘I’m going to take this test and it’s going to be over’ and there’s a sense of relief.”

Mr. Sullivan has learned to listen for whispers of despair and to reach out to such students before things get worse. He is one of about 250 students in the Student Support Network, a program that teaches them how to get help for troubled friends and acquaintances.

The training from Student Support Network sounds a lot like the Mental Health First Aid training that the SHYMCA is going to roll out.  We now has 2 of the 10 certified MFHA instructors in New Jersey.

And they practice, practice, practice how to gently persuade another student in distress to go for professional help, even if it means walking them to the counseling center.

Both MHFA and this Student Support program are not just about education and awareness, the teach a member of the general public how to act. At the risk of being incredibly repetitive in this blog, it is only those close to the distressed person (family, friends, colleagues) whot can see the change over time, and can conclude, hey, this is not the same person I know. That’s why, like CPR, we want to reach everyone in the community with this first aid training.

There will be a presentation on this during our Mental Health week upcoming May 9th though 12th, 2011 at the Somerset Hills YMCA.