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Prevention & Mental Health Education

We believe that the entire University community is responsible for the safety and emotional well-being of our students. Therefore, we are committed to providing mental health and suicide prevention initiatives at UNC Charlotte that strive to enrich the community of care that is an intrinsic piece of the institutional identity.  To be successful as an institution, all members of Niner Nation must be involved and take an active role.

By providing training, education and resources, we are committed to building each individuals' capacity to be an active member of our community of care. With that guiding principle in mind, there are several programs in place to help the community partner with the mental health professionals to identify, respond to, refer, and assist students at risk.

IN A CRISIS

Students, faculty, staff, and family members are encouraged to learn about CAPS crisis services. Help for students is available throughout the day and evening hours from a variety of sources.

SELF-HELP RESOURCES

We recognize that many students may want to do some work on their own before deciding to seek formal support. Counseling and Psychological Services' Self Help page provides resources that can be accessed at any time as students are working to improve their wellbeing. Complete an online mental health screening, access our video workshop modules, or connect with additional self help materials.

MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES PAGE

Here you will find a list of more extensive resources that are commonly used to support students. 

Introductory Training Opportunities

Niners Helping Niners - Student Training

Students are often supporting their fellow students and may be the first to learn of their mental health concerns and struggles. This brief workshop focused on learning warning signs of mental health concerns, strategies to support other students, and ways to refer to campus resources when appropriate. Click here to learn more about this workshop and how to access it.

 

Intro to Supporting Students in Distress- Faculty/Staff Training 

Faculty and staff are often the first individuals to recognize that a student may be experiencing distress.  This training is intended to provide basic information and training on how to recognize warning signs, provides strategies to support students and ways to refer to campus resources when appropriate. 

To learn more about this workshop and how to access it, please log in to the Learning and Organizational Development Portal

 

For questions about these introductory training opportunities, please email suicideprevention@charlotte.edu.

QPR (QUESTION, PERSUADE, AND REFER)

QPR is a 90 minute training intended to foster a community of care by teaching individuals how to recognize the warning signs of suicide, including verbal, behavioral, and situational clues. The training provides guidelines on how to Question a person about suicidal thoughts, Persuade them to get help, and Refer them to campus and/or local resources.  The training is both educational and experiential and includes:

  • An overview of statistics regarding suicide
  • Myths versus facts
  • Behavioral, verbal, and situational warning signs
  • Concrete tools for helping someone in distress
  • Role plays in small groups to practice these skills

REGISTRATION REQUIRED. To register for these sessions, please log in to the Learning & Development portal.

UPCOMING QPR SESSIONS FOR STUDENTS:

  • Weds., January 28th from 5 - 6:30 pm, virtual.
  • Weds., February 18th from 6 - 7:30 pm, virtual.
  • Weds., March 25th from 6:30 - 8 pm, virtual (BSW & MSW STUDENTS ONLY). register here.
  • Thurs., March 26th from 11:30 am - 1 pm, PMSU 200.
  • Fri., April 10th from 3:30 - 5 pm, virtual.

UPCOMING QPR SESSIONS FOR FACULTY & STAFF:

  • Fri., February 6th from 9:30 - 11 am, virtual.
  • Weds., March 18th from 9:30 - 11 am, virtual.
  • Tues, April 14th from 2 - 3:30 pm, virtual.
  • Tues., May 19th from 1:30 - 3 pm, virtual.
  • Thurs., June 25th from 1 - 2:30 pm, virtual.

For questions about QPR Training please contact suicideprevention@charlotte.edu.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)

MHFA is an 8-hour training is a national public education program that introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental illnesses and substance use, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common supports. This course demonstrates how to offer initial help in a mental health crisis and connect persons to the appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care. The program also teaches the common risk factors and warning signs of specific types of illnesses like anxiety, depression, substance use disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. 

The training is both educational and experiential and includes:

  • An overview of statistics regarding mental health and suicide
  • Myths versus facts
  • Behavioral, verbal, and situational warning signs
  • Concrete tools for helping someone in distress

REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Each session has a maximum of 30 participants and a minimum of 5.To register for these sessions, please log in to the Learning & Development portal

UPCOMING MHFA SESSIONS FOR STUDENTS:

*** Participants must complete 2 hours of pre-work and attend the full 6 hours of the instructor led training to earn their certificate.

  • Tues., February 17th & Thurs., February 19th from 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, virtual
  • Sat., March 21st from 10 am - 4 pm, CHHS 295
  • Mon., March 23rd & Tues., March 24th from 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, virtual
  • Mon., April 13th & Weds., April 15th from 4 - 7 pm, virtual

UPCOMING MHFA SESSIONS FOR FACULTY & STAFF:

*** Participants must complete 2 hours of pre-work and attend the full 6 hours of the instructor led training to earn their certificate. 

  • Thurs., January 29th & Fri. January 30th from 2 - 5 pm, virtual
  • Tues., March 10th & Weds., March 11th from 9: 30 am - 12:30 pm, virtual
  • Fri., May 22nd from 9:30 am - 4 pm, Colvard 5092

For questions about Mental Health First Aid Training, please contact suicideprevention@charlotte.edu.

These training opportunities are just one way to work to reduce mental health stigma and take an active role in building an ethic of wellbeing and foster a community of care at UNC Charlotte.

For questions about suicide prevention efforts, please email suicideprevention@charlotte.edu.

You can help support training opportunities and suicide prevention efforts by donating directly to these programs.