Giving Compass' Take:

· The Jewish Standard explains how the Youth Mental Health First Aid Training for workers at Camp Ramah helped them provide the needed mental health care for campers. 

· How can we address the stigma surrounding mental illnesses? 

· With an increase in youth suicide and substance abuse, the US should consider investing in youth mental health. 

Before this camp season, Karen Legman Segal of Teaneck, director of camper care for Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, participated in an intensive program that offered new approaches to crisis intervention.

Ms. Segal — a longtime social worker who has worked at the camp for 23 consecutive summers in a variety of roles — was not sure at first that the camp needed the new program.

“I was asked over a year ago to participate, but I was a little hesitant,” Ms. Segal said. “I didn’t want a canned project to enter into camp. We already had a wonderful advisory system that provided emotional support for campers, parents, and counselors.”

Nevertheless, with an eye toward enhancing current techniques, camp leaders decided to pursue the invitation. And, Ms. Segal said, the Youth Mental Health First Aid Training she received “has given me new strategies and enhanced my perspective.”

Read the full article about first aid for mental health by Lois Goldrich at The Jewish Standard.