TPC Journal-Vol 9- Issue 4-FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 4 327 paraprofessionals improve communication and helping skills, identify local mental health resources, understand important ethical considerations, and connect health providers with individuals within their community who are in need of mental health services (Hinkle, 2014). In addition to the core content, the curricula directed toward educators and emergency personnel contain tailored modules to best support those populations. With trainings ranging from 6 to 30 hours, the curricula can be delivered over consecutive days or divided into its modules and taught over several weeks, depending on community needs (Hinkle & Henderson, 2007). The foundation of the MHF curriculum underscores the shared experiences of stress, distress, and disorder (Desjarlais, Eisenberg, Good, & Kleinman, 1995; Hinkle, 2014; Hinkle & Henderson, 2007). Given these theoretical underpinnings, the core modules cover topics such as basic helping skills, coping with stress, community mental health services, and community advocacy skills, and also introduce trainees to considerations around ethical practice and specifics about interventions such as suicide mitigation and trauma responses (Hinkle, 2014). Participants learn the benefits of investing in mental health, barriers to mental health care, cost-effective interventions, how mental health disorders impact families, confidentiality and privacy, and the broad mission of the MHF program (Hinkle, 2014). In the basic helping skills section of the training, trainees cover development; diversity; verbal and nonverbal communication; facilitative skills such as listening, asking questions, and providing reflections; assessing for mental health concerns; empathy and understanding human feelings; and how to make referrals and effectively terminate relationships (Hinkle, 2014; Hinkle & Henderson, 2007). This information is followed by a discussion of how to understand problems, coping styles, and ways of effectively managing problems. The training then delves into recognizing stress, distress, and various disorders, including risk factors and mental health in children. The core modules conclude with discussions of suicide and trauma. Being the leading cause of death among young people in low- and middle-income countries, suicide is a pressing concern within all communities (WHO, 2006). Similarly, the pervasiveness of natural and human-born disasters and crises, such as war, forced displacement, human trafficking, typhoons, and wildfires, affects individuals of all demographics around the world and often goes untreated (Hinkle, 2014). A final topic covered in the core MHF training is the importance of self-awareness and self-care for mental health facilitators. Moreover, the content in any of the five MHF curricula can be adapted to best fit the social, cultural, economic, and political realities and needs of any community, country, or region. For example, countries have chosen to add additional modules on child maltreatment in the Syrian region. Past and Ongoing MHF Research Building a strong evidence base is imperative to the development of a sustainable program that addresses the staggering gap that exists in mental health service provision. With limited resources spent on mental health, countries and communities cannot afford to implement programs that lack evidence supporting their projected outcomes and benefits. To this end, NBCC has and will continue to emphasize building a solid evidence base for the MHF program. Qualitative studies published to date (Luke, Hinkle, Schweiger, & Henderson, 2016; Van Leeuwen, Adkins, Mirassou-Wolf, Schweiger, & Grundy, 2016) support the perceived value and effectiveness of the program. Luke et al. (2016) reported that among the value and benefits, participants commented on how the program was culturally congruent and beneficially adapted to the needs of their community as well as how the program filled a need in terms of limited mental health resources. Participants further noted the considerable negative implications if the MHF program were to be discontinued (Luke et al., 2016). Van Leeuwen et al. (2016) also found notable positive perceptions of the MHF program. Participants reported that they gained