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THE
VA WAY
Raising the Mental Health IQ of Our Communities
Mental Health First Aid Training * Meditation * Yoga Therapy * Reiki * Sound Healing
MENTAL HEALTH
FIRST AID TRAINING
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders and gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial support to someone developing a mental health or substance use problem and connect them to the appropriate care. This training shatters long-held stigmas of mental illness, giving each participant greater understanding and compassion not only for others experiencing mental illness but also themselves.
We have teams of instructors trained in the Adult MHFA, Youth and Families training, as well as the Veteran MHFA training. And best of all, we can bring the training to you or you can choose from one of our local facilities.
Who should take this training?
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Community members
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Customer service
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Directors
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Educators
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Employers
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Government employees
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Students
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Concert venue staff
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Everyone
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Caring Individuals
MENTAL WELLNESS
The VA Way partners with
The Om Collective to offer holistic therapies that are scientifically proven to help reduce symptoms of mental illness and improve your overall wellbeing -
mind body and spirit.
Our team includes a Certified Yoga Therapist (MS Yoga Therapy, C-IAYT), Reiki Master, Cranio-Sacral Therapist, Sound Bowl Healer, and Thai Body Worker.
We also partner to offer Wellness Retreats both locally and globally, such as Virginia and Costa Rica that bring the best healing modalities we have to offer to beautiful destinations, allowing you to unplug from stress, connect to nature, and heal.
For more on our Wellness Retreats, or to book one-on-one or group therapies please visit The Om Collective or email us.
bringing mental
health first aid
to the music
community
The loss of iconic musician Jeff Austin hit founder of the VA Way, John, very hard.
Yonder Mountain String Band was the first time he was introduced to bluegrass music and it was in New Orleans at a 2am show during Jazz Fest. That show forever changed his life. He believes that night discovering Jeff Austin set him on the path that he is on today. Jeff's death highlights the crises of mental health in ALL communities, especially our music community.
The VA Way is partnering with the Delfest Foundation to bring Mental Health First Aid Training to our Music communities. Our goal is to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness - to make it okay to not be okay, to make it okay to seek help, and to increase the awareness and the overall Mental Health IQ of our community so that as a community we cultivate understanding and compassion for ourselves and others and build a strong support network to prevent future loss of any of our brothers and sisters due to mental illness.
