By TENA L. COOK, CSC MARKETING COORDINATOR
CHADRON – Chadron State College Licensed Student Counselor and Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor Chelsea Turner led a December training session of 14 CSC employees who earned Mental Health First Aid certification.

“The training teaches them how to take care of themselves and how to take care of other people based on the most up-to-date research. I was impressed with the turnout,” she said. “The class represented a broad cross-section of campus.”
Two more sessions will be offered in the spring semester to interested employees and students.
Turner was certified as an instructor in October 2024 through an American Rescue Plan Act grant provided by the Behavior Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) to support campus wellness. She said the primary goal of CSC Health Services and CSC Wellness in sponsoring her to become a certified instructor was to decrease the number of mental health crises on campus.
“The participants loved how interactive the training was, especially practicing the skills in the training instead of just listening to a presentation,” Turner said. “After the training, we received some incredible feedback about how applicable this is to the college student population we work with.”
According to Turner, Mental Health First Aid Training teaches participants how to recognize common signs of mental health and substance use challenges, assess the situation, and reach out to connect with individuals to offer the support they might need to mitigate concerns before the situation becomes a crisis.
The upcoming CSC training sessions on Feb. 24, and April 29, will consist of two hours of online pre-work followed by an in-person class with Turner from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided by BHECN Panhandle. Each session is limited to 15 registrants on a first-come, first-served basis. Online registration for the February training will be open to employees Feb.1-10 at https://forms.office.com/r/gbwYX3DsLZ. Registration for the April 29 event will open later this semester for students and employees.
“This is a really exciting opportunity to reduce the mental health stigma and to recognize the warning signs of a mental health or substance use crisis,” said Dr. Brittany Helmbrecht, CSC Wellness Officer and Interim Dean of the School of Professional Studies and Applied Sciences.
For more information, contact Turner at [email protected].