FAQs

Click on one of the questions below to find answers:

1.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.

2. 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.

3. What if I don’t physically live or work in either 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 and that are open to you.

ASIST and safeTALK
CALM (online for free)
All Mental Health First Aid trainings
QPR: online training or to find an instructor in your area

We also encourage you to contact your county mental health agency

4. How much do the classes cost?

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

5. How do I register for a training?

On the “Home” page, there is a bright orange square on the right hand side under the rotating slide show labeled “Find a Class." Click that button and you will be taken to the training calendar. Scroll down to view what is currently being offered and if seats are available. If there are seats available, there will be a blue button on the right hand side that says “Register”. Click that, complete the form and submit. You will then receive an email confirmation to the email you listed in your registration that will include all of the details needed to attend the training including the actual address of the training location.

Please check the accuracy of your email address, so that we can be sure to communicate with you.

6. I didn’t get a confirmation email after I registered for a training. What do I do?

Please do not register again.

If you registered for a training and didn’t receive a confirmation email from Get Trained to Help, please check your spam folder. These confirmation emails are sometimes routed there depending upon the security and filters of your email server. If you still don’t find it, please email the contact of the county the training you registered for is in.

Clackamas County: Current staff transition; stay tuned for updates!
Multnomah County: Scott Vu scott.vu@multco.us 971-442-5640
Washington County: Zev Braun SuicidePrevention@co.washington.or.us 971-727-7315

7. How do I know if a class is full?

Once a class is full, the “register” button is replaced with the message: “Unfortunately, this class is now full and we are no longer accepting registrations.”

We do not maintain wait lists for the classes. Please check back on the class listing because sometimes there are cancellations and one or two spots can open up. When this happens, the “register” button will reappear.

8. Do you maintain a wait list for classes and how do I get put on one?

We don’t maintain wait lists. We over-enroll all of our classes to account for cancellations, no-shows and the like. If a seat does become available in one of the classes, it posts back to the website and is available for anyone that comes across it to register for.

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

To cancel your registration, please contact the county coordinator where the training you registered for is located in, and ask them to unenroll you from the class.

Clackamas County: Current staff transition; stay tuned for updates!
Multnomah County: Scott Vu scott.vu@multco.us 971-442-5640
Washington County: Zev Braun SuicidePrevention@co.washington.or.us 971-727-7315

10. Can I register for multiple dates for the same training because I’m not sure what date I can attend?

Please do not register for multiple dates for the same training. Registering for multiple dates for the same training takes away opportunities for other members of our community.

If you need to get your supervisor’s approval, please do that prior to registering.

If you register for a training and later find out that you cannot attend, please cancel asap with the County Coordinator where the training is located.

11. I want someone to provide one of these trainings for my business or organization, privately. Do you do that?

If you have a group of at least 10-15 people who would like to take a training listed below, we welcome requests for private trainings. Please complete the request form here: Private Training Request Form

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

12. When do you post new trainings and dates?

We post new trainings and dates on the website during the first week of each month. It’s recommended that you visit the website regularly during that time as that’s the best time to see what’s new, to register and to secure a seat in our often quick-filling trainings.

13. What is the difference between Youth Mental Health First Aid, Adult Adult Mental Health First Aid, Mental Health First Aid for Older Adult and Mental Health First Aid for Veterans? Should I take all of them?

Youth Mental Health First Aid is for adults, 18 years of age and older, that have a lot of contact with young people between 12-18 years old and want to learn more about mental health for that age group. It is a similar, but different curriculum than the other models we offer.
Adult Mental Health First Aid is a more general curriculum about the mental health of adults, 18 years of age and older and is the core curriculum of Mental Health First Aid for Older Adult and Mental Health First Aid for Veterans, Service Members and their families.
Mental Health First Aid for Veterans is the Adult Mental Health First Aid curriculum with some additional information added in specific to veteran, service members and the culture of the military. Mental Health First Aid for Older Adults is the Adult Mental Health First Aid curriculum with some additional information added in specific to adults, aged 50 years and older.

We recommend that you take the training(s) most applicable to your situation, your life and the folx in it. If you are looking to take more than one, it is recommended that you take Youth Mental Health First Aid and start with only one of the Adult variations (Adult, Older Adult or Veterans, Service Members and their Families). We recommend this because if you take all three adult variations that we offer, back to back, you will find them very repetitive. Your certification expires every 3 years so you could take one Adult variation every three years and work your way through all of them.

14. What do you do with the information that I give at registration?

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

We use your contact information to communicate with you about the trainings you’ve registered for, support your attendance at the training and let you know about upcoming events and classes. We communicate with you primarily through email -- please check to make sure it is accurate when you register. Thank you.

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

Other information we ask for during the registration process is used to create overall reports about attendance, number & types of classes, kinds of participant roles, etc. In this case, participants’ identity or personal information is not included. Only non-identifiable statistics are compiled into reports for the purpose of further responding to community needs.

For more information, please review our privacy notice.

15. How can I prepare myself for a virtual or in person training; what tips and suggestions do you have?

To get the most out of the training and our time together, we invite you to reflect on these questions prior to your training.

What are some physical needs to care for before and during the meeting? Examples include having water and healthy snacks and fidget toys available for easy access.
What would help you join the conversation with people you may be meeting for the first time? What would help you share your experiences and beliefs and listen to others?
What would help your focus and concentration?
What logistical support can help you be more present? Examples during this virtual time include practicing an online meeting with a friend, wearing headphones to help you hear over other sounds in your physical space or checking your internet connection and strength. Examples for in-person trainings could include driving the route you plan to take prior to the training, locating parking, packing lunch and snacks the night before, getting plenty of sleep or wearing layers of clothing so that you are comfortable and prepared for a range of temperatures.