Trainers
Destiny Brown, Mental Health & Suicide Training Instructor & Suicide Prevention North Central Regional Coordinator
Timothy Denney, Suicide Prevention NW Regional Coordinator
Sarah Kemp Tabutt, Fargo VA Community Engagement and Partnerships Coordinator
Sarah Lefebvre, Sanford Health Crisis Manager
Brenna Olson, Polk County Public Health Wellness Coordinator & Suicide Prevention NW Regional Coordinator
Michelle Van Camp, Alluma Chief Marketing & Communications Officer
QPR
Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training is a nationally-recognized, evidence-based practice for reducing risk of suicide and increasing the likelihood of securing assistance for people who are at risk for suicide. QPR is on the National Registry of Evidence-Based Practices at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). QPR meets the requirements of the Minnesota Department of Education teacher licensure requirement for at least one hour of suicide prevention training.
QPR Learning Objectives:
- Increase awareness about the problem of suicide
- Knowing the groups at greatest risk of suicide and why QPR can work for them
- Suicide and suicide prevention in history
- New and promising approaches to suicide prevention
- Enhance surveillance of others in distress and detection of suicide warning signs
- Understanding the nature and range of suicidal communications
- Recognize the warning signs of suicide
- Increase ability to identify an individual who may be at risk for suicide
- Enact a three-step intervention to help a person at risk for suicide:
- Question – question to determine if the person is at risk for suicide, and be able to recognize answers and other signs that indicate risk
- Persuade – persuade the person at risk to seek help, know how to offer hope, and know how to intervene effectively with those at risk for suicide
- Refer – be able to encourage a person to self-refer to treatment, know how to assist a self-referral, know how to refer someone at risk for suicide to an appropriate resource, and know when to get emergency assistance
Trainings available:
- Core-Everyone
- Elderly/Elder Care Workers
- Emergency Service Professional
- Rural & Agriculture Communities
- School Settings
- Clergy
- Construction
Length: 1.5 hours
Emergency Service Professional CEU’s available
Social Work CEU’s available
safeTALK
SafeTALK is a half-day training program that teaches participants to recognize and engage persons who might be having thoughts of suicide and to connect them with community resources trained in suicide intervention. SafeTALK stresses safety while challenging taboos that inhibit open talk about suicide. The program recommends that an ASIST-trained resource or other community support resource be at all trainings. The ‘safe’ of safeTALK stands for ‘suicide alertness for everyone’. The ‘TALK’ letters stand for the practice actions that one does to help those with thoughts of suicide: Tell, Ask, Listen, and KeepSafe.
The safeTALK learning process is highly structured, providing graduated exposure to practice actions. The program is designed to help participants monitor the effect of false societal beliefs that can cause otherwise caring and helpful people to miss, dismiss, or avoid suicide alerts and to practice the TALK step actions to move past these barriers. Six 60-90 second video scenarios, each with non-alert and alert clips, are selected from a library of scenarios and strategically used through the training to provide experiential referents for the participants.
Program Objectives
After training, participants in the safeTALK program should be able to:
- Challenge attitudes that inhibit open talk about suicide.
- Recognize a person who might be having thoughts of suicide.
- Engage them in direct and open talk about suicide.
- Listen to the person’s feelings about suicide to show that they are taken seriously.
- Move quickly to connect them with someone trained in suicide intervention
Who should take safeTALK?
SafeTALK is an ideal option for anyone who wants to help keep others safe, regardless of prior background or experience. safeTALK can be taken by anyone 15 or older, or by those 13-14 years old with support from a parent or guardian.
Length: 4 hours
Law Enforcement CEU’s available
Social Work CEU’s available
Make It OK- Stop Mental Illness Stigma
Make it OK is a community campaign to reduce stigma by increasing understanding and creating caring conversations about mental illness. It’s OK to have a mental illness. Many of us do. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans live with a mental illness.
Length: 1 hour
Emergency Service Professional CEU’s available
Social Work CEU’s available
MDH- Changing the Narrative on Mental Health & Suicide
Participants will leave with an understanding about the importance of language, be able to identify risk and protective factors, and be empowered to respond to people in distress. Discuss the different feelings, beliefs, and attitudes talking about mental health and suicide.
Length: 1-3 hours
Emergency Service Professional CEU’s available
Social Work CEU’s available
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) 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 video training as well as simulations to help learners understand a mental health crisis, resp0ond appropriately, and connect persons to the appropriate professional and peer resources, and identify self-help strategies. The program also teaches the common risk factors and warning signs of specific types of illnesses, like anxiety, depression, substance use, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Like CPR, Mental Health First Aid prepares participants to interact with a person in crisis and connect the person with help. The program offers strategies and tools for citizen responders. MHFA answers key questions, like “how can I assist this person?” 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 for mental health and addictions treatment and support. All trainees receive a program manual to compliment the course material.
The evidence behind MHFA demonstrates that it helps the public identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness. Specifically, studies found that those who trained in MHFA have greater confidence in providing help to others, greater likelihood of advising people to seek professional help, improved collaboration with health professionals, and decreased stigmatizing attitudes. Mental Health First Aid is included on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
Mental Health First Aid certification, which must be renewed every three years, provides trainees with:
- Knowledge of the potential risk factors and warning signs for a range of mental health problems, including: depression, anxiety/trauma, psychosis and psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, and self-injury
- A 5-step action plan encompassing the skills, resources and knowledge to assess the situation, to select and implement appropriate interventions, and to help the individual in crisis connect with appropriate professional care
- An understanding of the prevalence of various mental health disorders in the U.S. and the need for reduced stigma in their communities
- Working knowledge of the appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help resources available to help someone with a mental health problem treat and manage problems and achieve recovery.
Who should take Mental Health First Aid?
- Must be 18 years of age or older.
- Community Members · First Responders · Faith Leaders · Coaches · Caregivers · Health Care Professionals · Teachers
Length: 8 hours
ASIST
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first aid. ASIST teaches participants to recognize when someone may have thoughts of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety. Although ASIST is widely used by healthcare providers, participants don’t need any formal training to attend the workshop—anyone 16 or older can learn and use the ASIST model.
Since its development in 1983, ASIST has received regular updates to reflect improvements in knowledge and practice, and over 1,000,000 people have taken the workshop. Studies show that the ASIST method helps reduce suicidal feelings in those at risk and is a cost-effective way to help address the problem of suicide.
Learning goals and objectives:
Over the course of their two-day workshop, ASIST participants learn to:
-Understand the ways that personal and societal attitudes affect views on suicide and interventions
-Provide guidance and suicide first aid to a person at risk in ways that meet their individual safety needs
-Identify the key elements of an effective suicide safety plan and the actions required to implement it
-Appreciate the value of improving and integrating suicide prevention resources in the community at large
-Recognize other important aspects of suicide prevention including life-promotion and self-care
Workshop features:
-Presentations and guidance
-A scientifically proven intervention model
-Powerful audiovisual learning aids
-Group discussions
-Skills practice and development
-A balance of challenge and safety
ASIST helps to build regional networks of trained caregivers who can support each and use common terminology to approach suicide and safety.
ASIST is a two day workshop. Attendees must complete the full two days in order to receive their certificate.
Length: 16 hours
CALM
Reducing access to lethal means, such as firearms and medication, can determine whether a person at risk for suicide lives or dies.
This course is about how to reduce access to the methods people use to kill themselves. It covers who needs lethal means counseling and how to work with people at risk for suicide—and their families—to reduce access.
After completing this course you will be able to:
Explain that reducing access to lethal means is an evidence-based strategy for suicide prevention.
Explain how reducing access to lethal means can prevent suicide.
Identify clients for whom lethal means counseling is appropriate.
Describe strategies for raising the topic of lethal means, and feel more comfortable and competent applying these strategies with clients.
Advise clients on specific off-site and in-home secure storage options for firearms and strategies to limit access to dangerous medications.
Work with your clients and their families to develop a specific plan to reduce access to lethal means and follow up on the plan over time.
Audience
While this course is primarily designed for mental health professionals, others who work with people at risk for suicide, such as health care providers and social service professionals, may also benefit.
Length: 2 hours