Butler County and two Butler human services agencies are holding a mental health first aid training course Tuesday.

Amy Peters, county mental health program director, said the eight-hour session is meant to help people differentiate between unusual behavior and an actual mental health issue.

“It’s definitely worth your while,” Peters said.

She said the other goal is to decrease the stigma attached to mental health issues.

The instructors will be Marsha Wagner from the Center for Community Resources and Lori Lizzi from Community Health Connections.

Lizzi said participants will learn how to recognize signs they may see in people’s behavior.

“This gives the basic information about giving first aid to someone who has a mental health problem,” she said.

The free course covers the ALGEE approach:

✓ Assess risk of suicide or harm

✓ Listen nonjudgmentally

✓ Give reassurance and information

✓ Encourage person to get appropriate professional help

✓ Encourage self-help and other support strategies.

Lizzi said participants will be taught to recognize such mental states as severe depression and panic attacks.

“We’re not asking anybody to be a clinician or a doctor,” she said.

The class is one of the 12 one-day courses sponsored throughout the year. A $10,000 federal grant funded the sessions.

Peters said a total of 108 people attended the first four classes. The goal is to reach 600 people by the end of the year.

The class runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Butler County Training Center, 227 W. Cunningham St.

To attend, call the county at 724-284-5114.

Lizzi pointed out May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

President Barack Obama diverted more funding to mental health education following the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting.

Adam Lanza, who was 20 at the time, fatally shot 20 children and six adults on Dec. 14, 2012, at the Connecticut school after murdering his mother at their home. He subsequently committed suicide.