First Response Training Videos

The Guidance Center partnered with Los Angeles Area Regional Training Group (LAARTG), The Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs Association (LAAFCA) and Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) to develop a series of eight mental health training videos for firefighters and paramedics across the country to use at no cost, thanks to a generous grant from The Ahmanson Foundation.

This series of web-based training modules provide first responders with the tools to readily identify the signs of mental illness in the field and to safely and effectively de-escalate these encounters. This format allows for the videos to be shown once a week as an 8-week training program, then regularly incorporated between calls on a reoccurring basis to reinforce knowledge and use of tools in the field. 

Topics covered include de-escalation and assessment of the mentally ill, interfacing with the homeless mentally ill, active suicide, understanding autism, what to do when it’s a child, limitations of psychiatric holds, empathic notification, and self-care.