Supporting Caregivers Through Mental Health Literacy Training

When a caregiver in the Cleveland Clinic Florida Market noticed that a colleague seemed overwhelmed by stress, they approached their peer with compassion and empathy and recommended several employee wellness resources offered through the enterprise. The caregiver was equipped to provide peer support thanks to a Mental Health First Aid® (MHFA) course they had recently completed.

MHFA is an evidence-based, early intervention course that provides instruction on mental health and substance use challenges. Cleveland Clinic Florida began offering the course, which is managed by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, in 2022.

"We want to help end the stigma around mental health and create hope for those that have been impacted or affected by mental illness, including our own caregivers,” says Cecelia Stalnaker-Cauwenberghs, administrator of the Behavioral Health Center at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital in Vero Beach, Fla.

A hunger for mental health training

Led by certified instructors, Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that teaches participants to recognize risk factors and warning signs of a variety of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, psychosis and psychotic disorders, substance use disorder and self-injury. It also provides guidance on having respectful, effective conversations with individuals in crisis and connecting them with appropriate professional help.

Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital in Weston, Fla., began offering MHFA through the healthcare organization’s Catalyst Grant program, which supports innovative caregiver ideas. An administrative assistant who worked at the front desk in the Human Resources Department saw a steady stream of employees coming into the department seeking help with stress, anxiety and other mental health concerns. He applied for and received a Catalyst Grant.

Since then, Weston Hospital and Indian River Hospital have received additional grants to fund MHFA training for caregivers and community members.
Cleveland Clinic’s Caregiver Office unveiled its 2024 MHFA classes – offered 100% online – during Mental Health Awareness Month last May.

“Within 30 hours of loading all the classes on Cleveland Clinic’s MyLearning [online education platform] all of the classes for 2024 were full and we had a waiting list,” says Michele Neptune, LCSW, Director of Employee Assistance and Wellness for the Florida Market. “That’s how much hunger there is for this type of information.”

Last year, the Caregiver Office offered 16 classes and trained 252 caregivers. It will present nine classes this year. Indian River Hospital offers in-person MHFA courses every other month, rotating the days and times to accommodate caregivers on different shifts. Certified instructors include clinicians, registered nurses, social workers, staff from the Caregiver Office and others.

Advice for launching MHFA courses

Organizations ranging from community health centers to school systems and state departments have provided MHFA training.

"When it comes to mental health well-being, it needs to be a collective effort,” says Neptune. She and Stalnaker-Cauwenberghs offer the following advice to healthcare professionals who want to institute the course at their facilities:

• Consider partnering with another organization. Indian River Hospital’s initial exposure to Mental Health First Aid was in partnership with the Mental Health Collaborative of Indian River County. Ten facilitators throughout the local community were certified as instructors, including Stalnaker-Cauwenberghs. They led MHFA courses and trained more than 1,400 community members, including caregivers at Indian River Hospital. That collaboration inspired Stalnaker-Cauwenberghs and the ED/Behavioral Health Integration Program to apply for a Catalyst Grant and offer the course at the hospital.
• Get leadership buy-in. Several leaders at Cleveland Clinic have championed MHFA, including Lyssette Cardona, MD, MPH, MHA, former Regional Chief Wellness Officer for Cleveland Clinic Florida; Amy Freadling, PhD, LPCC-S, CEAP, BCC, Senior Director of Caring for Caregivers Staff and Employee Assistance Programs at Cleveland Clinic; Gabriel Brooks, Executive Director of Operations at Indian River Hospital; and K. Kelly Hancock, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Executive Vice President and Chief Caregiver Officer.
• Line up administrative support. “It’s a big investment of time,” says Neptune. “Make sure you have administrative staff to do the front-end and back-end work – register people for classes, send follow-up emails, check in with participants to make sure they are doing the pre-work.”

Neptune and Stalnaker-Cauwenberghs are grateful for the Catalyst Grants and institutional support that allow them to offer MHFA training.

"Our goal is to shift the social and systemic barriers for those living with mental health conditions,” says Stalnaker-Cauwenberghs. “MHFA empowers our caregivers to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions and utilize resources that are available. We want our caregivers to realize that reaching out for help is a sign of strength.”