BROWNSVILLE — Texas Southmost College (TSC) Counseling and Students Accessibility Resources (CASAR), in conjunction with Tropical Texas Behavioral Health, recently collaborated for the Adult Mental Health First Aid Training event held at TSC’s Set B complex. The training’s efforts are to advance the mental health management skills of TSC employees.
TSC Counselor and Accessibility Service Manager Mario Garcia, LPC, said the training is intended to provide better understanding and management skills for mental health situations.
“The training is for TSC’s employees to assist with the mental health needs of TSC students,” said Garcia. “It included management skills on dealing with mental health situations such as self-harm, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and other mental health situations.”
Tropical Texas Behavior Health training facilitators Denise Treviño and Bianca Martinez provided various scenarios and role-playing exercises to engage staff in learning better mental health management skills.
TSC President Dr. Jesus Roberto Rodriguez said that such organizations and facilitators mentioned above are essential for employees to acquire the skills to identify a mental health crisis and assist with such situations.
“Life is full of surprises and can often cause stressful circumstances and chaos for our students,” said Dr. Rodriguez. “Training our employees in identifying mental health crises and how to better handle such circumstances can diminish this crisis and possibly save lives. Organizations such as Tropical Texas Behavior Health and their facilitators play an essential role with the mental health crisis training.”
TSC Executive Director of Student Life and Civility Dr. Armando Ponce said that organizations overlook training in identifying mental health crises but that it is as essential as training in physical health such as first-aid situations or CPR.
“It has become the norm to get training leading to certifications in physical health, like administrating first-aid or CPR,” said Dr. Ponce. “Navigating through the world we live in is not easy, and training to respond to mental health crises benefits all communities, including TSC.”
For more information on obtaining mental health services or if you are dealing with a mental health crisis, remember, you are not alone. Contact the Counseling and Student Accessibility Resources office at TSC in the Lightner Center, 102A, (956) 295 – 3587.
