Gatekeeper Training
Gatekeeper trainings vary in a number of ways. Some are appropriate for everyone in the community (including youth) while others are designed for one specific stakeholder population, such as school personnel or law enforcement personnel. Programs may include classroom/lecture style information dissemination, small group discussion, use of videos with case studies, and/or participant scenario role plays. Many programs include combinations of these educational strategies. Gatekeeper trainings vary in length from very brief educational sessions to multiple day trainings. A few combine gatekeeper trainings with screenings (see SOS). All gatekeeper programs are designed to raise public awareness about suicide and suicide prevention. These prevention efforts target and benefit all citizens in a defined community, providing basic information about youth suicide, the warning signs and how to refer people to help. Any gatekeeper training program, to be both effective and responsibly administered, should be embedded within a larger public health approach to youth suicide prevention (e.g., using multiple strategies across the system at the same time).
Risk and Protective Factors
The Youth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guide (for schools only), prepared by Katherine Lazear, Stephen Roggenbaum and Karen Blase, and developed by the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida.
Briefs and checklists that can be referenced for these sections are Issue Brief 3a - Risk Factors: Risk and Protective Factors, and Warning Signs and 3b - Risk Factors: How Can a School Identify a Student At Risk for Suicide.
Community Wide Gatekeeper Training Programs
QPR stands for Question, Persuade and Refer, an emergency mental health intervention for suicidal persons created by Paul Quinnett, and first described in 1995 in a number of presentations and publications by the QPR Institute. It is a best practice gatekeeper training that is in the process of being evaluated.
ASIST is a two day evidence-based workshop designed to provide participants with gatekeeper knowledge and skills. They have added a three hour tutorial called Safe Talk that provides an overview of ASIST and links the user to ASIST for information on how to register for the training.
Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program
A school-based and community based suicide theoretically sound prevention program, although it lacks enough evidence at this time to be listed as effective or promising. Yellow Ribbon incorporates a collaborative, grass-roots model to decrease suicide risk by promoting help-seeking behavior. Recommendations for school assemblies are not supported by DPI .
This matrix is designed to assist you in comparing and contrasting the ASIST, SafeTalk, QPR and Yellow Ribbon Gatekeeper Training Programs. It is still in development and SPRC would appreciate you feedback on its usefulness.
From Module 4 of Strategic Planning for Suicide Prevention, developed by the American Association of Suicidology and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center with funding from the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Resources
The Youth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guide (for schools only)
Briefs and checklists that can be referenced for this section is Issue Brief 3a- Risk Factors: Risk and Protective Factors, and Warning Signs and 3b- Risk Factors: How Can a School Identify a Student At Risk for Suicide.
Department of Public Instruction's (DPI) Student Services/Prevention and Wellness Team is offering free workshops to help schools improve prevention efforts. These modules are designed for pupil services staff and administrators only. Information acquired from these trainings prepares participants to train their staff. Training topics include:
- Incidence, Risk Factors, and Prevention
- Improving Classroom Instruction
- Crisis Response
- Screening for Depression and Suicide Risk
- Students with Mental Health Needs: Challenges and Opportunities pilot training, Department of Public Instruction
Supplemental Educator Training - Mental Health in Schools/Classroom
This gatekeeper training is designed to instruct classroom teachers about the impact of mental health problems on their student's ability to learn. It is a four module training covering the links between social emotional development and learning, addresses the impact of stigma surrounding mental health issues, discusses strategies to formulate a plan to help students and promote a positive classroom climate. The MHA, in collaboration with Wisconsin United for Mental Health facilitated several "train the trainer" day-long workshops for pupil service staff on this initiative. For more information, call: Mental Health America of Wisconsin (414) 276-3122 or
send a message.
Lethal Mean Restriction Resources
Goal 5 in the NSSP discusses means restriction in-depth on pages 71-77 (73-80 of the PDF). The definition of means and means restriction can be found in the NSSP glossary (page 201 of the PDF). Example ideas for means restriction are provided throughout the objectives section.
Lethal Means Restriction: Its value and its problems
A paper resented at the SPRC Regions 7 and 8 Conference on 28-30 October 2003. The paper reviews different types of means restriction, discussing such topics as policy and legislation (e.g., changes in gun laws), and presents examples and effects of unrestricted and restricted access to lethal means (e.g., safety barriers on bridges, incorporation of questions related to guns in the home into physician intake).
This document survey's public understanding and attitudes regarding gun control in Wisconsin and outlines policy recommendations. Pages 1-15 provide a checklist of action steps by stakeholder group (included in this toolkit). For information on how to access the entire document, contact the
Wisconsin Council on Children and Families.
The following programs from the SPRC Registry of Evidence-Based Practices involve the restriction of lethal means.
An
SPRC fact sheet describing an effective, evidence-based gatekeeper training program regarding means restriction. This program is designed to educate parents of youth at high risk for suicide within emergency departments of hospitals.
An
SPRC fact sheet describing an effective, evidence-based gatekeeper training program regarding the sale of analgesics (used in suicide attempts by self-poisoning). This environmental strategy was aimed at pharmacies and the general public.
Suicide prevention: Restricting access to lethal means (SPRC Discussion Series)
A
presentation on the effectiveness of restricting access to lethal means. The discussion series webpage contains an author biography, PowerPoint slides, and an audio file of the discussion.
