Mental Health First Aid Summit Forums A

MHFA Forum 1 - Breaking Barriers and Building Understanding: Mental Health Awareness in Multilingual Families

Sunday, April 26, 2026

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM MDT

Location: 610

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act is a comprehensive school safety law passed in Florida (2018) following the tragic shooting in Parkland. Its significance lies in the recognition that student mental health is integral to school safety, making Florida a leader in school-based mental health support nationwide. This session will equip participants with culturally responsive strategies to effectively engage multilingual families and break down barriers to mental health support. The focus will be communication strategies that work effectively across language barriers to identify and address systemic barriers that prevent multicultural families from accessing mental health awareness.

Learning Objectives:

The participant will recognize how cultural backgrounds influence mental health perceptions, symptom expression, and help-seeking behaviors.
The participant will Identify and address systemic barriers that prevent Multilingual families from accessing mental health awareness.
The participant will adapt MHFA approaches to honor diverse family structures, decision-making processes, and cultural values.

Disclosure(s):

Ursula M. Davis, LPC: No financial relationships to disclose

Forum Presenter - MHFA Summit(s)

Liliana L. Salazar, MS

National Director for Special Education and Student Support
Academica
Miami, Florida

Disclosure information not submitted.

Moderator - MHFA Summit(s)

Ursula M. Davis, LPC

Associate Project Director
Georgia State University, Georgia Health Policy Center, Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health and Wellbeing
Atlanta, Georgia

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose