Responding to COVID: Training Communities in Mental Health First Aid and Trauma-Informed Care

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken not just a physical toll, but an emotional and social one as well. In 2021, the United States saw increases in overdose, signs and symptoms of anxiety and depression, and escalation in rates of suicide for youth.

In response, PHI’s Cypress Resilience Project trained and certified over 1,100 people to provide mental health interventions and services in high-need communities. The team provided trainings in Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid (for adults supporting youth) and added mono-lingual Spanish classes resulting in over 624 hours of training for public health officials, educators, law enforcement and staff in community based organizations.

Cypress also trained over 2,500 people in trauma-informed practices including over 8,500 hours of trainings with workshops focused on topics including:

• What Happens in the Brain During Trauma
• Healing from Trauma
• Intergenerational and Historical Trauma
• Avoiding Burn-out
• Trauma Informed Practices for
• Organizations Toxic Stress Management
• How to Support People Who are Grieving
• Self-care Strategies
• Supporting Children and Youth During COVID-19
• Managing Change and Transition

Cypress staff provided technical assistance to a variety of institutions looking to deepen their commitments to trauma informed practices—both in their outward facing practices and internally to support the workforce. This included cross-sector collaborations with community based organizations, public health departments, schools and school districts, health systems and more.