Maine hospital’s training empowers its community to support children’s emotional well-being
Mentally healthy children have a positive quality of life and can function well at home, in school and in their communities. Today, children of all ages may face an increasing amount of stress and emotional challenges. Northern Light Acadia Hospital in Bangor, Maine, is addressing children’s mental health needs by providing psychological first aid training (PFA) to community partners including local school employees, camp counselors and hospital teams.
PFA training provides skills to “identify and respond to those who have experienced trauma, being able to connect those individuals to resources and provide them with skills for self-care,” said Jennifer Laferte-Carlson, community health manager, Northern Light Acadia Hospital. She and several others from her team are offering the training at no cost to organizations and leaders. “The statistics on kids with depression, anxiety, etc. are scary,” Laferte-Carlson noted. “Now more than ever, this training is essential.”
With grant funding, Northern Light Acadia Hospital has plans to provide PFA training to more than 2,500 people by September 2026. According to a recent blog on the hospital website, the overall aim is to empower community members to “feel confident and capable in supporting others’ emotional well-being” as well as “reducing the stigma around seeking mental health support and enabling early intervention.”