By Adolphine Nyandoro

With the increasing mental health concerns among young people, USIU-Africa, has taken up the initiative to train students, staff and faculty on how to provide psychological support in times of crisis. On January 24, the Department held a graduation ceremony for to celebrate 187 students, staff and faculty members who successfully completed the Psychological First Aid Training program in the Fall semester.

With the rise of mental health awareness, there is need to empower people in knowledge of mental health issues as well as the possible interventions. Early intervention can make a significant difference in preventing long term psychological issues. Psychological First Aid is an immediate humane, supportive response to someone in distress and providing referral for further professional care.

Throughout the training, the trainees learnt ways of supporting individuals in distress, such as offering reassurance, providing basic comfort, and facilitating connections to appropriate resources. The trainees reported an improvement in their ability to handle difficult emotional situations with empathy and concern even as they continue to practice their skills in real-life scenarios. The trainees are equipped with the skills to recognize the signs of emotional distress, ways to offer meaningful emotional support and how to practice their own self-care.

During the graduation ceremony, graduands were issued with certificates of participation, signifying their readiness to be first responders within and without USIU-Africa. Some of the graduands shared their own experiences of the positive impact that the training has had in their lives. One graduand shared that he has created a form with all the names and contacts of university counselors at USIU-Africa, making it easy for him to refer his colleagues for further intervention when necessary. Another graduand shared that, “Over Christmas holidays I had a teen who received her examination results and was overwhelmed because she had failed. She was suicidal and felt hopeless. I talked with her till she was calm and provided guidance on how she can navigate this transition and encouraged her to enroll in a bridging college.” These testimonies reinforce the importance of the program in creating a compassionate, supportive, resilient and understanding community on campus.

The Counseling Center continues to urge all the students, staff and faculty members to register for the upcoming trainings.