Aymeric* is “a first aid in mental health”, but is neither a doctor nor a psychologist. Like more than 100,000 people in France, this teacher in mathematics “simply” has had two days training for first aid in mental health (PSSM), deployed to the general public since 2018 under the leadership of the Ministry of Health. The program, originally from Australia, was adapted by the PSSM France association, and aims to “train rescuers capable of better identifying mental disorders […] And to encourage to go to adequate professionals “, specifies the site, which claims a” scientifically validated “method.” We do not form caregivers, and we are not there to diagnose. Our philosophy is to contribute to the change of look at everything related to the psychic to know how to react to a person who would present a disorder or who would be in crisis, “said Caroline Jeanpierre, director of PSSM France.
During his training in 2023, Aymeric, who wanted to have keys to possibly support students in suffering, remembers the definitions of psychiatric diseases or this “hyper useful” exercise, in which a participant faced his suicidal neighbor – embodied by the trainer – to question him. But the teacher was quickly disturbed by another aspect. “Half of the people present that day worked in the field of alternative medicines: there were hypnotherapists, sophrologists, naturopaths … I wondered if it was not dangerous that these people then had the first aid-health label in mental health, because they could mobilize it to attract customers”, he says, while the attestation was automatically attributed to the outcome training, without evaluation.
Aymeric did not be wrong: on the Internet or LinkedIn, L’Express spotted dozens of pseudotherapists who display this rescuer’s cap. “PSSM training is instrumentalized by people who have no competence in psychology and are supporters of alternative practices. The expression rescuer in mental health allows them to legitimize them, and brings confusion in the minds of the general public, which is still poorly masters the distinctions between professionals in the Psy field”, deplores Mickael Worms-Ehrminger, doctor of public health and producer of a podcast on mental health, “Blue pain”. Boring, while the Ministry of Health, which financed the system when it was launched, made its deployment one of the flagship measures of mental health and psychiatry Assizes in September 2021. Especially since the device seduces a large audience: the number of mental health rescuers formed by PSSM France continues to increase, with an increase of 92.5 % between 2022 and 2023.
Esoteric trainers
If the people trained in the PSSM were initially rather from the medico-social field, “more and more citizens come from other professional sectors”, confirms Muriel Vidalenc, president of PSSM France. “But it is the heart of our project to address everyone, and we cannot ban people from participating in our training on the basis of their profession.” The association, on the other hand, is said to be very vigilant about the profile of its trainers, who must respond to several prerequisites: follow the training at PSSM, have personal and/or professional experience with people with mental disorders, or have already animated group training. “Once all these boxes are checked, they must develop their journey in writing, and you can add a telephone call to request additional information,” explains Muriel Vidalenc. The selected then followed a five -day training, at the end of which 85 % are directly accredited by PSSM trainers; The remaining 15 % having to carry out supervised sessions or return the training in its entirety.
This selection, a priori demanding, does not seem infallible: among the 1,300 trainers registered in the PSSM France directory, L’Express identified at least 70 profiles promoting, again, pseudoscientific practices and esoteric concepts. Alongside many sophrologists, a discipline of which efficiency has never been demonstratedappear a “Reiki practitioner and an energy accompanying person”, an “introspection accelerator” making “psychoenergetic assessments”, or a “reverbera and magicious tease”. All indicate that they are also training in PSSM on their site and personal networks. Some mobilize securities not regulated by law – “integrative psychopractor”, “professional coach” -, when others, sometimes the same, are part of fields several times denounced by the interministerial mission of vigilance and the fight against sectarian aberrations (Miviludes) – like the dozen practitioners in “neurolinguistic programming” (PNL) the brain to add new potentials. ” “The PSSM training can be qualitative, but if the trainers have this kind of deviant profile, they can quite take dangerous speeches and far from good practices to participants!”, Alerts Hugues Gascan, founder of the study group of the sectarian phenomenon (GEPS).
Promotion of fasting and psychoanalysis
Arnaud Carré can testify. Teacher -researcher in psychopathology and member of the scientific and educational council of PSSM France -responsible for updating the data on which the training is based -he thus heard a trainer explaining at length the benefits of fasting to participants. Problem: this practice, far from being safe, does not appear in the content fixed by the association, which cannot be “modified, reduced or supplemented”, indicates the engagement agreement signed by the trainers. “On the part devoted to depression, we will actually speak of the lifestyle and the possible impact of food, with the taking of food supplements. But we must immediately specify the limits, and recall that nothing must be done outside a medical opinion, develops Arnaud Carré, himself a trainer at PSSM. Suppose now that a trainer is very interested in naturopathy. come, and lead to this promotion of fasting. “
Another example: while a slide in the training displays psychoanalysis among “effective interventions in depression” – a disputed affirmation for children and adolescents affected by this disease -, trainers must normally contextualize it, explaining that “the approach is presented as an illustration because it is part of the supply of care in France, but that it does not benefit from a consensus on its effectiveness” Clarifies Arnaud Carré. However, Deborah*, which was trained at the PSSM at the start of the year, tells a whole different reality. “The trainer, who was a psychoanalyst, insisted at length to tell us that it was very effective, and that it could even be better than cognitive-behavioral therapies in some cases. As people who were with me had no mental health knowledge, no one reacted.”
Muriel Vidalenc and Caroline Jeanpierre, the leaders of PSSM France, admit that they are “worried” by these situations, although they have not had directly in terms of “deviant” practices. To avoid them, the latter are already thinking about generalizing interviews by phone, or setting up a “mystery client” system. “We also have regular exchanges with Miviludes, especially when we tick on profiles at the time of candidates to become a trainer,” they explain, convinced that there is the “credibility” of their training. On this subject, a research project on the efficiency of PSSM in France was launched at the end of 2024, bringing together a dozen universities and CHU.
“The objective is to know if it really works, and map the rescuers and trainers: who are they, how do they feel …”, List Arnaud Carré, program coordinator. Mickael Worms-Ehrminger, also associated with this approach, still wonders: “In health, before launching a drug or an intervention, it is studied in depth to be certain of its profits and know its risks. Here, we have generalized with incredible speed this training without conducting this prior work, while the meta-analyzes abroad show Mixed results“The craze does not seem to be ready to stop: for the year 2025, fourteen training courses are planned at PSSM France, in groups of 16. All are already complete.
*The first name has been changed.
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