Mental Health Training for All
Hatherleigh Behavioral Health is offering FULLY FUNDED SCHOLARSHIPS for online self-paced Mental Health Awareness & Support Training at no cost to you. Available now through December 31, 2026. This is our public-good commitment to Suicide Awareness Month and beyond.
First Steps Mental Health Training
Our scholarship course (normally $30, yours at no cost) is designed for anyone—no prior training or clinical background required. In less than an hour, you'll gain practical, immediately applicable knowledge and skills.
Understand & Recognize
Learn what mental health and wellness really mean, and how to spot common warning signs of emotional distress before a crisis escalates.
Start the Conversation
Discover what to say and what not to say when someone you care about may be struggling. Practice compassionate, non-judgmental listening.
Recognize Crisis Signs
Understand warning signs for suicide and know the immediate next steps you can take to help keep someone safe in a moment of crisis.
Connect to Resources
Know when and how to encourage professional help, and how to connect individuals with appropriate local and national support resources.
Skills You Can Use Immediately
Mental Health First Steps training (a $30 value at no cost to you) is built around practical, real-world skills—not clinical jargon. Every topic has been carefully selected to help participants feel confident and capable in everyday situations.
Understanding Mental Health & Wellness
Move beyond myths and misconceptions. Build a clear, compassionate understanding of what mental health means and how it affects all of us.
Recognizing Warning Signs
Learn to identify behavioral, emotional, and physical signs that someone may be struggling—and understand when urgency is needed.
Compassionate Communication
Practice the words that help and avoid the ones that hurt. Develop the confidence to hold a supportive conversation without fear of making things worse.
Suicide Awareness & Immediate Response
Understand critical warning signs of suicidal thinking and know the clear, calm steps to take when someone may be in immediate danger.
Connecting to Resources
Know what resources exist, nationally and locally, and how to help someone take the first step toward professional support.
Building Resilient Communities
Understand your role in creating environments—at home, at work, and in your community—where mental wellness is supported and protected.
Who This Training Is For
Mental health awareness belongs to everyone. First Steps training is designed to meet you exactly where you are with no experience necessary and no clinical background required.
Families
Recognize when a loved one is struggling and know how to show up with empathy, not anxiety. Strengthen the bonds that matter most.
Educators
Identify early warning signs in students, create a culture of psychological safety, and connect young people with the support they need.
Employers & HR
Build mentally healthy workplaces. Equip managers and staff to support colleagues experiencing emotional distress with confidence and compassion.
Community & Faith Leaders
Serve your community with expanded tools. Become a trusted resource for the people who look to you in their most vulnerable moments.
Reducing Stigma Starts With One Conversation
Stigma is one of the greatest barriers preventing people from seeking help. When mental health is treated as a topic too uncomfortable to discuss, those who are struggling suffer in silence and the people around them feel helpless.
Mental Health First Steps training is designed to dismantle that silence. By building a shared language and a national culture of compassion, Hatherleigh believes we can normalize help-seeking behavior and ensure that no one faces their darkest moments alone.
"Mental health challenges touch every family, workplace, school, and community. This training empowers ordinary people to make an extraordinary difference. When more Americans understand how to recognize concerns, listen without judgment, and respond appropriately, lives can be changed and potentially saved."
—Hatherleigh Behavioral Health
Take the First Steps Today
The First Steps Mental Health Training is a free scholarship available right now, online. In less than an hour, you'll have the knowledge, language, and confidence to make a real difference—for someone you love, someone you work with, or a stranger who simply needs to feel less alone.
Together, we can build communities of informed, compassionate citizens—ready to help, ready to listen, ready to save lives.
Hatherleigh Behavioral Health is committed to advancing mental wellness through education, prevention, early intervention, and community engagement. By expanding access to practical mental health knowledge and support skills, Hatherleigh works to strengthen individuals, families, workplaces, and communities while promoting resilience, hope, and recovery.
For partnership opportunities, bulk enrollment for organizations, or media inquiries, contact Hatherleigh Behavioral Health directly at support@hatherleigh.com
First Steps: New York State