Discover an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in your community. Learn about upcoming suicide prevention trainings right here in Laramie. Gain the knowledge and skills needed to support those in crisis and contribute to a safer, more compassionate society. Join us in the journey to save lives.
Developed by Elaine Frank and Mark Ciocca, CALM: Counseling on Access to Lethal Means is a 1.5 to 2 hour workshop designed to help providers implement counseling strategies to help clients at risk for suicide and their families reduce access to lethal means, particularly (but not exclusively) firearms. It includes a number of components: background on suicide data and lethal means; an introduction to firearms; video presentation that models the counseling strategy; a presentation and discussion on conducting a counseling session; optional role plays; and a course evaluation.
A typical 90-minute training agenda includes:
The problem: Youth suicide and access to lethal means.
Negotiation of means restriction (video presentation).
Conducting a family firearms assessment.
Wrap-up and evaluation.
The CALM program has developed over time with the benefit of initial funding from the Suicide Prevention Partnership/Gutin Family Foundation and in collaboration with Means Matter, a project of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. It has benefited from evaluations received from many different audiences in a variety of states.
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide.
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 can be learned in our Gatekeeper course in as little as one hour.
As a QPR-trained Gatekeeper you will learn to:
Recognize the warning signs of suicide
Know how to offer hope
Know how to get help and save a life
How is QPR like CPR?
Much of the world is familiar with CPR — short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation — an emergency medical intervention created in 1957 by Peter Safar. The process is designed to stabilize people who aren’t breathing or breathing intermittently and who may be in cardiac arrest until the person can reach a hospital or other care.
Similarly, QPR is an an emergency mental health intervention for suicidal persons created in 1995 by Paul Quinnett. An abbreviation for Question, Persuade and Refer, the intent is also to identify and interrupt the crisis and direct that person to the proper care.
Early Recognition
We cannot overemphasize the need for early recognition of suicide warning signs.
A well-executed, strong and positive response to the early warning signs of a pending suicide event may render subsequent links in the Chain of Survival unnecessary. Most people thinking about suicide are suffering from an undiagnosed and/or untreated mental illness or substance use disorder for which excellent treatments exist.
The prompt recognition of the scream of a smoke detector can eliminate the need to suppress a raging fire. In just that way, by recognizing early the warning signs of suicide, opening a supporting dialogue with a suicidal person and securing consultation a professional may prevent the need for an emergency room visit or psychiatric hospitalization.
Listed below are the QPR courses offered at IMH through 2024:
MHFA is open to anyone in the UW community at no cost! Sign up today and make a difference tomorrow. Certificates are recognized across the globe and look great on a resume! Contact the Wellness Center for questions.
