St. Mary's Foundation...it all comes back to you!

Suicide Prevention Trainings

St. Mary's Foundation provides three different trainings: ASIST, suicideTalk and QPR. ASIST training is specifically designed to teach individuals suicide intervention skills. Both trainings (ASIST and suicideTalk) were developed by LivingWorks, an internationally acclaimed agency dedicated to suicide prevention and intervention. QPR was developed by the QPR Institute. Detailed information about the trainings can be found below.

ASIST is a two-day interactive workshop that trains individuals in suicide "first-aid". Participants are trained how to recognize and assess the potential risk of suicide. This workshop also equips the particpant with the intervention skills to keep the person safe until the appropriate level of ongoing help can be accessed.

Working mostly in small groups of one trainer to no more than 15 participants, ASIST uses

many different teaching processes to create a practice-oriented and interactive learning experience.

ASIST is not therapy. The emplasis of the ASIST workshop is on suicide first aid; helping a person at risk stay safe and seek
further help.

Participants learn how to:

recognize invitations for help
reach out and offer support
review the risk of suicide
apply a suicide intervention model
link people with community resources

ASIST provides practical training for individuals seeking to prevent the immediate risk of suicide.

Participants often include:

people concerned about family or friends
natural helpers and advisors
emergency service workers
counselors, teachers and ministers
mental health practitioners
workers in health, welfare or justice
community volunteers

What makes ASIST different?

CONNECTING: Connecting gives individuals an opportunity to clarify and examine their own attitudes toward people
exhibiting suicidal behavior. Through connecting, individuals can overcome attitudinal barriers that may hinder their
learning and their helpfulness.

UNDERSTANDING: Viewing a suicidal situation through the eyes of an at-risk person helps individuals understand how
to take care of that person's concerns. Participants practice how to apply their understanding in simulated scenarios
involving suicide risk.

ASSISTING: Participants learn the Suicide Intervention Model as a framework for understanding the process of suicide
intervention. They also intensively apply suicide first aid, including connecting, understanding, and assisting skills in
intensive practice situations.

Registration

Date: Wednesday, June 6, 2012 and Thursday, June 7, 2012

Time: Workshop will 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day

Location: Capital University Center, 925 East Sioux Ave., Pierre, SD

This training is offered free of charge. This is made possible by a Suicide Prevention Grant from the Department of Social Services Division of Mental Health for Community Partnership for Suicide Prevention (CPSP). Credit for continuing education is available. Note space is limited to 30 per class.

Please RSVP to juliemoore@catholichealth.net to register.

Registration questions? Call Julie Moore at 224-3451 or email at juliemoore@catholichealth.net

What is QPR?
QPR stands for Question, Persuade and Refer, three steps anyone can learn to help prevent suicide. Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives.

Why should my organization use QPR?
Experts agree suicide is a preventable form of death, and that lives can be saved with the implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based suicide risk reduction strategies. Participants first learn about the nature of suicidal communications, what forms these communications take and how they may be used as a stimulus for a QPR intervention. They are introduced to the research support for QPR to prevent suicide. Enhanced skills training across the spectrum of service organizations, business and industry staff and other community members can dramatically lower the risk that a community member will attempt or will die by suicide.

What will QPR participants learn?

To identify and refer individuals at-risk for suicide
To serve as crisis intervention volunteers within family, social and work groups in which they participate
To use a “best practices” method of suicide risk assessment and management
To understand the causes of suicide, how intervention and treatment saves lives, and how to enhance protective factors that help prevent suicide among their acquaintances

What is the cost of QPR training?
The 1-2 hour training is provided free of charge.

suicideTalk is a 90-minute session that invites interested community members to become more aware of
suicide prevention opportunities in their community. Dealing openly with the stigma around suicide, this exploration focuses upon the question, "Should we talk about suicide?" As a suicideTALK-informed session member, you will be better able to:

understand how personal and community beliefs about suicide affect suicide stigma and safety
appreciate how the steps taught in suicideTalk can be used to help prevent suicide
choose among ways to help protect, preserve, and promote life in a suicide-safer community

suicideTalk can be customized for any community. Intriguing questions and a number of handouts stimulate learning. Discover commitments that you want to make.

suicideTALK will be offered periodically throughout the calendar year. Please contact Julie Moore 224-3451 or juliemoore@catholichealth.net Trainings can also be arranged specifically for your organization.

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