Mental Health Support and Crisis Recognition Foundations

You're a manager, teacher, or community leader. Someone you know—an employee, student, friend, or neighbor—is struggling. You notice changes: withdrawal, self-criticism, missed deadlines, lost laughter. You want to help, but you're not a therapist. You don't know how to diagnose what's happening, and you're worried that saying the wrong thing might make it worse. This course teaches you what peer supporters actually do: notice, listen, respond supportively, and connect people to professional help. Not diagnosis. Not treatment. Not being their therapist. Just genuine support within appropriate boundaries. You'll learn to recognize ten core presentations—depression, anxiety, trauma, self-harm, suicidality, substance use, psychosis, domestic violence, burnout, grief—not to diagnose them, but to see them clearly enough to know when someone needs more support than you can provide alone. You'll learn practical techniques: how to listen without judgment, how to de-escalate when someone is in crisis, how to ground someone in acute panic. You'll learn the resource landscape: crisis hotlines (988, Crisis Text Line), therapy pathways, when to call emergency services. The course is grounded in evidence-based frameworks (Mental Health First Aid, SAMHSA guidelines, peer support standards), not myths. You'll unlearn harmful assumptions: that asking about suicide plants the idea (false; asking reduces risk), that mental health problems are moral failings (false; they're treatable conditions), that you should be able to handle everything alone (false; your job is to listen and connect, not carry it). You'll learn that your own wellbeing matters—supporting others is emotionally demanding, and you can't pour from an empty cup. You'll also grapple with real ethical questions: when does supporting someone become enabling? How do you respect someone's autonomy when you're worried about their safety? What's the difference between confidentiality and covering up abuse? How do you recognize your own limitations and say no without guilt? By the end, you'll have a practical decision tree: faced with a real situation, you'll know how to recognize what's happening, respond with appropriate support, and navigate to the right resources—whether that's a therapist, a crisis hotline, or emergency care. You'll be grounded in the reality that mental health is common, treatable, and that peer support—done well—matters profoundly.