Since the start of the project in September 2014, staff have delivered more than 200 trainings to over 12,000 individuals in educational, behavioral health, and community settings throughout the commonwealth.
The GLS project provides three levels of suicide prevention training:
QPR Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention covers the above training topics and teaches a 3-step process for responding to individuals that may be suicidal: (1) Question the individual's desire or intent regarding suicide, (2) Persuade the person to seek and accept help, and (3) Refer the person to appropriate resources. Trainees receive a QPR booklet with an overview of training content and information about resources. The training also includes a role play component. The duration is typically between 1.5 and 2 hours.
Additionally, to assist schools and colleges with building capacity to offer regular suicide prevention trainings, the project offers QPR Instructor Trainings by request. To learn more about this opportunity, please scroll to the bottom of this page to contact Perri Rosen.
MHFA and YMHFA teach how to help someone who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge. The adult MHFA course is appropriate for anyone who wants to learn how to help a person who may be experiencing a mental health related crisis or problem. YMHFA is designed to teach adults how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. The courses both teach a 5-step action plan for how to help people in both crisis and non-crisis situations and include multiple opportunities to practice the action plan through role plays. Trainees receive a booklet with information about various mental health diagnoses, the action plan, and resources.
This training outlines how to identify youth that may be at risk for suicide. Attendees will learn about the process for conducting a suicide risk assessment and how to collect valid data from youth as part of this process. The key content and rationale for the questions that comprise a suicide risk assessment are reviewed, along with modeling of language that can be used to elicit valid responses from youth.
This training provides an overview of safety planning, a brief clinical tool that helps youth and their families when they are struggling to identify strategies to assist with managing and overcoming the crisis. This intervention is based on a cognitive-behavioral approach and can be implemented by mental health providers across a range of settings. Attendees will learn the components of a safety plan and how to develop a safety plan with youth at risk for suicide.
This training discusses the importance of engaging families when working with depressed and or suicidal adolescents, as well as methods to do so. Barriers to engaging families in treatment are described, as well as ways to help motivate parents to bring their adolescents to treatment. Attendees also learn about various forms of adolescent resistance and methods to work through this resistance.
This training provides an overview of the rationale and recommendations for conducting postvention in schools after a tragic loss, especially in relation to minimizing the risk of contagion following a death by suicide. Attendees will learn the essential components of a postvention response and the various responsibilities of postvention team members. The training concludes with a discussion of self-care strategies, and an overview of statewide and national mental health resources to best support students, staff, families, and the community.
This training considers how a trauma-informed approach by educational staff can enhance the well-being of all students, and in particular promote safety of youth who may be suicidal. Staff relationships that are trusting and caring help students feel supported, and during times of crisis, such relationships may help counter hopelessness and enable the student to accept help. The training further examines the central role of school gatekeepers in promoting student safety and resilience during times of suicidal crisis.
Clinical trainings offered through the project include cognitive-behavioral strategies for the assessment and treatment of suicidal youth, and Attachment-based Family Therapy. These trainings are offered to treatment providers that work with high-risk youth in school and/or community settings. Clinical trainings offered through the project are typically coordinated at the county-level.
This one or two-day course provides an overview of suicide risk assessment strategies and treatment skills conducive for working with depressed and suicidal teens. The trainer provides a review diagnostic tools that will aid the clinician in determining diagnostic impressions, assessing and monitoring suicidality, safety planning, and determining appropriate level of care. Effective CBT treatment strategies are then discussed and illustrated. Special emphasis is placed on helping therapists collaboratively prioritize and individualize interventions and establish a continuum of care.
This training is provided by Kim Poling, LCSW, from the Services for Teens at Risk (STAR) Center in Pittsburgh, PA. More information about the STAR Center is available here.
ABFT is the only manualized, empirically informed family therapy model specifically designed to target family and individual processes associated with adolescent suicide and depression. ABFT emerges from interpersonal theories that suggest adolescent depression and suicide can be precipitated, exacerbated or buffered against by the quality of interpersonal relationships in families. It is a trust-based, emotion-focused psychotherapy model that aims to repair interpersonal ruptures and rebuild an emotionally protective, secure-based parent–child relationship.
On Day One, participants are offered an overview of the model including theoretical principles and clinical strategies. Faculty will review how attachment theory, emotion regulation, and trauma resolution inform the delivery of this experiential treatment approach. We also review the goals and structure of the five treatment tasks that provide a road map for delivering this interpersonally focused psychotherapy effectively and rapidly. For those interested in more intensive training, Days Two and Three provide a more in-depth look at the procedures and process involved in facilitating the therapy. Enrollment for Day One is unlimited (as permitted by space), while Days Two and Three have limited enrollment.
The full three day workshop is the beginning of a two year credentialing program for those interested in ongoing supervision. Commitment to continue is not required for participation.
This workshop is presented by the Drexel University ABFT Training Program at the Center for Family Intervention Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. More information about Drexel’s ABFT Training Program is available here.
This Suicide Prevention Online Learning Center is designed to provide current and evidence-based information to anyone who may come into contact with individuals struggling with suicidal thoughts and behaviors, including educators, mental health professionals, medical professionals, and the general community.
A range of suicide prevention trainings are offered at no cost through the Suicide Prevention Online Learning Center, including many trainings developed and recorded through the GLS grant. A sample of trainings available on the site is listed below:
When visiting the site for the first time, users must click the “login” tab to register, creating a username and password. Then, click the “All Courses” tab to view all site content. Any trainings that users complete will be documented on a transcript that may be downloaded, and some courses will offer printable certificates. Please be sure to review the site’s FAQs to address questions regarding registration and site content.
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If you, or someone you know, is in Emotional Distress or thinking about Suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number at 988 or contact Crisis Text Line by texting "PA" to 741-741.
Perri Rosen, PhD, NCSP | Project Director, Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention Grant
Department of Human Services | Office of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
Bureau of Children’s Behavioral Health
T: 717-772-7858 [office]
T: 717-303-4611 [mobile]
E: c-prosen@pa.gov
This site was funded under award SM061750 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Prevent Suicide PA, nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Additionally, the Garrett Lee Smith grant team does not specifically endorse any one model or program related to suicide prevention.