High school students learn to support each other through mental health first aid training

Sometimes, you just don’t know what someone is going through.

“You don’t always know that they’re struggling,” said Claire, a 10th grader at Sumner High School. 

That’s something Claire learned as one of the first groups of SBLSD students to go through teen Mental Health First Aid training – a course that was taught to all 10th graders at Bonney Lake and Sumner high schools this year. 

At a time when many youth across the country are facing mental health challenges, teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) teaches teens how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among their friends and peers. 

In the course, youth learn:

• The impact of school violence and bullying on mental wellbeing.
• How to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among your friends or peers
• How to talk with friends supportively
• How to get help from a safe, trusted adult

“This program was made to be able to support teens to support other teens,” said Cynthia Cuellar, counselor at Sumner High School.  “What the research has shown is that teens are more likely to talk to their peers versus adults. And so this is just another avenue to allow students to get the support that they need.”

Cynthia, who helps administer the program, said she had students engaged and asking questions about mental health. Dasha Berry, counselor at Bonney Lake High School, added that she also had students come to her seeking help for their friends.

“We often find that students may know that there's something wrong, but they don't know what to do or what to say, and so then they don't take action – and we want students to be able to take action when they are concerned about their friends,” Dasha said.

Bonney Lake High School 10th grader Jack said he learned in the course how to approach someone who might be struggling with mental health and how to be open to conversation – skills he said he’s already implemented with a friend. 

“My counselor said that usually mental health challenges are viewed as they shouldn't be talked about, but really, the person would most likely just be relieved to have someone to talk about that with,” Jack said.

SBLSD will continue to implement the training next school year.

“The work that counselors at Bonney Lake High School and Sumner High School have put in has just been amazing,” Cynthia said. “And I think it's just another step to be able to get our kids the help that they need and hopefully be of good health, and that also includes mental health.”

The program is funded through a Pierce County grant and was first brought to the county in 2022 with support from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound. Since the program's inception, more than 3,000 students have been trained across seven school districts in Pierce County, with two additional districts implementing the training next school year. 

If you or someone you know is in crisis or mental distress, please call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. For additional resources, visit sumnersd.org/wellness.