Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory (COMET) training

COMET (Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory) is a two-hour interactive training that teaches participants how to reach out in a meaningful, respectful and supportive way to friends, co-workers or acquaintances who seem to be struggling somewhere between wellness and a mental health crisis. While designed for rural and farming communities, it can also be used in urban and suburban settings.

Often, we want to support our friends, neighbors and colleagues in times of need but may not know how. COMET empowers us to be more prepared to support others’ mental health needs — especially before a crisis. This training doesn’t expect community members to “fix it,” but instead trains people to feel comfortable initiating a supportive and potentially emotional conversation by using a simple seven-question guide.

The questions were developed using evidence-based techniques. The question guide:

1. provides an easy way to start a conversation,
2. teaches you how to exit the conversation in a supportive way, and
3. offers resources to share with others if they need more than a listening ear.

These trainings are offered in partnership with Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Agriculture.