Workplace Safety North is now offering a mental health first aid training course developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC). The course will be available starting in June.
“We’re pleased to announce this important new course in partnership with Lisa Lounsbury of New Day Wellness,” said Candys Ballanger-Michaud, WSN president and CEO, in a release.
“Mental health first aid is an idea whose time has come. We’ve focused on physical first aid, and now we need to focus on providing support to someone who is experiencing mental stressors.”
The two-day course gives participants an overview of mental health, signs and symptoms of common problems, information about effective interventions and treatments, and ways to access professional help.
Benefits of a psychologically healthy workplace include improved morale, productivity and retention, and reduced absenteeism, injuries and medical disability, Ballanger-Michaud said.
The course will be led by Lisa Lounsbury, the founder and owner of New Day Wellness, a Sudbury-based company that specializes in corporate wellness coaching and fitness training. Working primarily in Northern Ontario, Lounsbury has experience dealing with substance, mood and anxiety related disorders.
“I’m very passionate about bringing ‘health’ to ‘health and safety,’ and bringing mental health awareness to the workplace and starting the conversation,” Lounsbury said in the release.
More information is available at www.workplacesafetynorth.ca/training/course/mental-health-first-aid.
Workplace Safety North is a non-profit organization providing health and safety specialty services and training to Ontario mining and mine rescue, and forestry, paper, printing, and converting sectors.
It is one of the four designated health and safety associations in Ontario.
