Education faculty Mathew Swerdloff presents findings on efficacy of Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings at mental health conference

Adjunct Faculty Mathew Swerdloff and his wife Elise Gold, a former adjunct faculty at New Paltz’s School of Education, shared their findings from a three-year data analysis on the efficacy of trainings around teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) in a presentation titled “Stats, Stories and Successes: A Report on Three Years of Teaching tMHFA in the Hudson Valley” at the National Council of Mental Well Being Summit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 5. 

There were many significant findings in support of tMHFA as a training module, but most notable was that tMHFA increases awareness of warnings signs of suicidality and increases the likelihood of a teen getting support where warnings signs are present. 

Swerdloff and Gold have co-administered tMHFA trainings to Hudson Valley teens since 2020 in their roles as co-founders of the Maya Gold Foundation, which offers programming on youth mental health across the Hudson Valley. Swerdloff has also hosted trainings on Youth Mental Health First Aid for SUNY New Paltz employees. 

The data analysis on teen Mental Health First Aid was supported by New Paltz’s Benjamin Center. Click here to learn more about their studies on local and state issues.  

For more information on SUNY New Paltz’s School of Education, click here.