Everyone has a role in suicide prevention. Prevent Suicide PA offers several in person suicide prevention trainings for a variety of audiences. Prevent Suicide PA most popular trainings include (QPR) Question, Persuade, Refer, ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and Mental Health First Aid all of which can be completed by anyone.  By completing a training, any individual can become suicide prevention gatekeepers. A Gatekeeper is someone in a position to recognize risk factors and warning signs that someone they know may be contemplating suicide. Gatekeepers include friends, family, neighbors, ministers, police, teachers and others who are strategically positioned to recognize and refer someone for help.

*QPR is PREVENT SUICIDE PA’S most popular training*

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. QPR’s mission is to save lives and reduce suicidal behaviors by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. This quality educational training empowers all people, regardless of their background, to make a positive difference in the life of someone they know. QPR is included in SAMSHA’s (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices.

QPR Gatekeeper Trainings

Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Each year thousands of Americans, like you, are saying “Yes” to saving the life of a friend, colleague, sibling, or neighbor. QPR participants should be able to: Recognize someone at risk for suicide, Intervene with those at risk; and, Refer them to an appropriate resource. QPR training can also be expanded to include other topics such as self-harm, depression, and can be tailored for specific populations or professions.

ASIST is similar to QPR, but this training program offers more in-depth intervention tactics. The aim of ASIST is to teach caregivers the necessary skills to provide emergency psychological first aid in situations involving suicidal behavior. The emphasis of the ASIST workshop is on suicide first aid, on helping a person stay safe and seek further help. The program is conducted over two days. Participants learn how to:

• Recognize that persons at risk are affected by personal and societal attitudes about suicide
• Identify factors that indicate and estimate the risk of suicide
• Estimate the degree of risk
• Discuss suicide with a person at risk in a direct manner
• Demonstrate the skills required to intervene with a person at risk of suicide
• List the resources, including themselves, available to a person at risk of suicide
• Commit to helping coordinate social support resources to persons at risk of suicide

Mental Health First Aid is a public education program that introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental illnesses, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common supports. This 8-hour course uses role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to offer initial help in a mental health crisis and connect persons to the appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care. The program also teaches the common risk factors and warning signs of specific types of illnesses, like anxiety, depression, substance use, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and schizophrenia. Mental Health First Aid is included on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

COURSE DETAILS

Mental Health First Aid teaches participants a five-step action plan, ALGEE, to support someone developing signs and symptoms of a mental illness or in an emotional crisis:

• Assess for risk of suicide or harm
• Listen nonjudgmentally
• Give reassurance and information
• Encourage appropriate professional help
• Encourage self-help and other support strategies

Like CPR, Mental Health First Aid prepares participants to interact with a person in crisis and connect the person with help. First Aiders do not take on the role of professionals — they do not diagnose or provide any counseling or therapy. Instead, the program offers concrete tools and answers key questions, like “what do I do?” and “where can someone find help?” Certified Mental Health First Aid instructors provide a list of community healthcare providers and national resources, support groups, and online tools.

Youth Mental Health First Aid is an 8 hour public education program which introduces participants to the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in adolescents, builds understanding of the importance of early intervention, and teaches individuals how to help an adolescent in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge. Mental Health First Aid uses role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to assess a mental health crisis, select interventions and provide initial help, and connect young people to professional, peer, social, and self-help care.

WHAT WILL PARTICIPANTS LEARN?

The course teaches participants the risk factors and warning signs of a variety of mental health challenges common among adolescents- including anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, AD/HD, disruptive behavior disorders, and substance use disorder. Participants do not learn to diagnose, nor how to provide any therapy or counseling – rather, participants learn to support a youth developing signs and symptoms of a mental illness or in an emotional crisis by applying a core five-step action plan:

• Assess for risk of suicide or harm
• Listen nonjudgmentally
• Give reassurance and information
• Encourage appropriate professional help
• Encourage self-help and other support strategies

The Youth Mental Health First Aid USA curriculum is primarily focused on information participants can use to help adolescents and transition-age youth, ages 12-18.

WHO SHOULD TAKE THE COURSE?

The course is designed for adults who regularly interact with adolescents (teachers, school staff, coaches, youth group leaders, parents, etc.), but is being tested for appropriateness within older adolescent groups (16 and older) so as to encourage youth peer to peer interaction.