Get Trained to Help

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Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about our trainings, registration, and eligibility.

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What is Get Trained to Help?

Get Trained to Help is a collaboration between Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. It is a one-stop gateway where community members can go to learn about and register for no-cost mental health education and suicide prevention trainings. By combining our resources, we offer classes across the region, reaching more people who want to learn more and desire to help others.

Who can take these trainings?

Anyone that is 18 years of age or older and that lives or works in either Clackamas, Multnomah or Washington counties. When we say live or work, we mean that your physical home address or your physical work site location are in one of these three counties.

What if I don't physically live or work in one of the three counties?

If you live or work elsewhere, here are local and national organizations you can contact to find classes and trainers. We'd recommend that you visit the following websites depending on which training you are interested in to determine other training opportunities in your area.

We also encourage you to contact your county mental health agency.

How much do the classes cost?

These classes are provided to people who live or work in the Tri-County area (Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties) at no charge. These trainings are funded using local tax revenues — a great example of your tax dollars at work.

How do I register for a training?

At this time, please contact your county coordinator.

I didn't get a confirmation email after registering. What do I do?

Please do not register again.

Check your spam folder first — confirmation emails are sometimes routed there. If you still can't find it, contact the coordinator for the county where your training is located:

Do you maintain a wait list for classes?

We don't maintain wait lists. We over-enroll all classes to account for cancellations and no-shows. If a seat becomes available, it posts back to the website and is open for anyone to register.

I need to cancel my registration. How do I do that?

Contact the county coordinator where your training is located and ask them to unenroll you from the class:

Can I register for multiple dates for the same training just in case?

Please do not register for multiple dates for the same training. Doing so takes away opportunities for other community members.

If you need supervisor approval, please get that before registering. If you register and later can't attend, please cancel as soon as possible with the County Coordinator.

Can you provide a private training for my business or organization?

Yes. If you have a group of at least 10–15 people who would like to take a training, we welcome private training requests. Please contact your county coordinator.

Private requests are reviewed in the order received, subject to trainer availability and material resources.

When do you post new trainings and dates?

New trainings and dates are posted during the first week of each month. We recommend visiting the website regularly during that time — it's the best window to see what's new and secure a seat before classes fill up.

What's the difference between the Mental Health First Aid variations? Do I need all of them?
  • Youth Mental Health First Aid is for adults 18+ who have frequent contact with young people ages 12–18. It covers mental health topics specific to that age group and uses a different curriculum than the adult variations.
  • Adult Mental Health First Aid is the core curriculum covering mental health for adults 18 and older. It serves as the foundation for the Older Adult and Veterans variations.
  • Mental Health First Aid for Veterans builds on the Adult curriculum with additional content specific to veterans, service members, and military culture.
  • Mental Health First Aid for Older Adults builds on the Adult curriculum with content specific to adults aged 50 and older.

We recommend taking the training most applicable to your life and the people in it. If you want to take more than one, start with Youth Mental Health First Aid and then one of the adult variations — taking all three adult versions back-to-back is very repetitive. Since certification expires every three years, you could work through them over time.

What do you do with the information I give at registration?

We take your privacy seriously and limit use of and access to the information you provide.

We use your contact information to communicate with you about trainings you've registered for, support your attendance, and let you know about upcoming classes. We communicate primarily by email — please make sure your address is accurate when you register.

For Mental Health First Aid classes, your name, organization, community role, email, and phone are submitted to Mental Health First Aid USA and Mental Health First Aid Oregon to issue certification and for evaluation purposes. For QPR classes, your email is submitted to the QPR Institute to permit access to class materials and certificates.

Other registration information is used only to create aggregate, non-identifiable reports about attendance, class types, and participant roles — your personal identity is never included in those reports.

For more information, please review our Privacy Notice.

How can I prepare for a virtual or in-person training?

To get the most out of the training, we invite you to reflect on these questions beforehand:

  • What physical needs should you care for before and during the session? Consider having water, healthy snacks, and fidget items within easy reach.
  • What would help you engage with people you may be meeting for the first time? What would help you share your experiences and listen openly to others?
  • What would support your focus and concentration?
  • What logistical preparation would help you be more present? For virtual trainings: practice joining an online meeting beforehand, use headphones to reduce background noise, and check your internet connection. For in-person: drive the route in advance, locate parking, pack any food the night before, get good sleep, and dress in layers for comfort.