What could possibly go wrong?-----NYC plan trains lay people as mental health screeners

NYC plan trains lay people as mental health screeners - Yahoo News
NEW YORK (AP) —
...New York City is about to put that idea to a major test: a $30 million plan to provide mental health training to staffers at social service organizations.
They'll be prepared to screen people for possible psychological problems, provide information and try to motivate them to make changes in their lives.
"Everyone can be a healer," city first lady and mental health advocate-in-chief Chirlane McCray said in a statement.
...The World Health Organization has called nonprofessionals "a valuable resource for mental health care."
The White House led a push that is directing $15 million a year to train teachers in mental health first aid, which 450,000 people nationwide have taken since 2008.
About 1,000 people have gone through a separate program called "emotional CPR."
...— but sounding notes of caution.
...Advocates worry about non-professionals slipping from noticing possible problems to diagnosing them, or overblowing unusual behavior into mental illness. 
Some researchers see having lay people do screenings as a recipe for false positives and unneeded follow-up; others, however, say it can accurately assess a community's psychological needs and link people to professional help.