ASIST Trainings
Which does my community need - awareness or intervention skills training?
ASIST 2-Day
Training 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
Workshop features: Presentations and guidance from two LivingWorks registered trainers
ASIST helps to build regional networks
of trained caregivers who can support each and use common
terminology to approach suicide and safety. Who should
attend? Many professionals attend ASIST because suicide intervention skills are essential for their work. In many organizations, ASIST is a mandatory component of training. Nurses, physicians, mental health professionals, pharmacists, teachers, counselors, youth workers, police, first responders, correctional staff, school support staff, clergy, and volunteers have all found that ASIST complements their existing training and knowledge. Other people attend simply because they want to be able to help someone in need, in much the same way they might learn CPR. Because the training is comprehensive and doesn’t rely on prior qualifications, they can have the same meaningful experience as a professional caregiver. Ultimately, ASIST is founded on the
principle that everyone can make a difference in preventing
suicide. The more people in the community who have suicide
intervention training, the more likely it is they will be
able to identify someone at risk and intervene to keep them
safe. Who provides
ASIST workshops? There are currently more than 6,000
active ASIST trainers around the world, and all trainers
receive ongoing support from LivingWorks as they work to
build suicide-safer communities. What
are the core features of an ASIST workshop?
What is the
structure of an ASIST workshop? Preparing: Sets the tone, norms, and expectations of the learning experience. Connecting: Sensitizes participants to their own attitudes towards suicide. Creates an understanding of the impact that attitudes can have on the intervention process. Understanding: Overviews the intervention needs of a person at risk. It focuses on providing participants with the knowledge and skills to recognize risk and develop safeplans to reduce the risk of suicide. Assisting: Presents a model for effective suicide intervention. Participants develop their skills through observation and supervised simulation experiences in large and small groups. Networking: Generates
information about resources in the local community. Promotes
a commitment by participants to transform local resources
into helping networks. Does ASIST provide CEU credits?
How much does it
cost to attend? The small financial return to
LivingWorks offsets development costs, participant
materials, trainer support, and quality assurance. As a
social enterprise, we finance all of these costs without
subsidies, government grants, or tax benefits. What is
ASIST 11? How does
ASIST align with the National Action Alliance for
Suicide Prevention's clinical workforce preparedness
guidelines? this document does not exist https://www.livingworks.net/programs/asist/ Those who are providing ASIST within their organizations are already doing their part to support clinical workforce preparedness in accordance with these guidelines. The downloadable document can be useful in demonstrating alignment with these guidelines for reports, funding applications, and other uses. Founded in 2010, the National Action
Alliance for Suicide Prevention is a public/private
partnership that supports, develops, and advocates for the
United States national suicide prevention strategy.
Published in 2012, the updated edition of the National
Strategy for Suicide Prevention recognizes the importance of
a broad clinical workforce that is well-prepared to assess
and intervene when necessary. The Action Alliance’s
Clinical Workforce Preparedness Task Force developed these
guidelines as a core set of minimum requirements for the
development, adoption, and dissemination of training efforts
to support this preparedness. These guidelines are detailed
in the 2014 document Suicide
Prevention and the Clinical Workforce
“Suicide
Intervention Training for K-12 Schools: A Quasi-Experimental
Study on ASIST” This month, we’re looking at some exciting new research published in the Journal of Counseling & Development this January. The study was conducted by Laura Shannonhouse, Yung-Wei Dennis Lin, Kelly Shaw, and Michael Porter, and examines the impact of ASIST for training teachers and counselors in K-12 schools. As a quasi-experimental study using a test group (104 staff who went through ASIST) and a purposefully matched control group (45 similar staff who didn’t go through ASIST), it is one of the most rigorous studies ever conducted on the impact of ASIST. That study examined the effects of ASIST training by asking participants to complete the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory—Second Edition (SIRI-2). Developed by Neimeyer and Bonnelle in 1997, the SIRI-2 presents caregiver replies to a person-at-risk of suicide and assesses how closely respondents’ ratings of those statements match ratings given by expert suicidologists. The closer the match, the more likely the respondent would say something beneficial in an intervention. This assessment approach is more objective than asking for self-rated skills or knowledge—however, the authors did note some nuanced findings about understanding SIRI-2 scores. The researchers found that, relative to the control group, the ASIST-trained group of school staff improved on all variables. Regression analyses determined how much of the improvements were attributable to the training rather than other factors, such as job role. In each case, a majority of the improvements could be attributed to the training, and all were statistically significant. At post-test, the trained group improved as follows (presented as variance explained by ASIST training and relative score improvement).
The authors concluded that their research aligns with previous studies indicating that ASIST participants report feeling more comfortable, competent, and confident intervening with people who have thoughts of suicide. They note that in school settings, ASIST is particularly valuable to teachers, who often have less training in suicide intervention compared to counselors and administrators. “[O]ur findings provide support for the use of ASIST in schools, particularly those in rural areas with limited access to mental health services,” wrote the authors. Another important takeaway from the study is the value of building intervention capacity among all school staff so that many people, regardless of role, can intervene when a student with thoughts of suicide chooses to confide in them. They refer to the term “natural helper” from the literature, and suggest targeting for training those people in systems that naturally display warmth or empathy, and have high interpersonal interactions. Accordingly, even if school counselors already have some knowledge of suicide intervention, they “should be interested in suicide intervention skills training that builds the capacity of their school community and provides suicide first aid to students at the moment when it is most needed,” concluded the authors. Citing this research: Shannonhouse,
L., Lin, Y.-W. D., Shaw, K. and Porter, M. (2017), Suicide
Intervention Training for K–12 Schools: A
Quasi-Experimental Study on ASIST. Journal of Counseling
& Development, 95: 3–13. Frequently Asked
Questions Which
does my community need - awareness or intervention skills
training? Awareness Awareness programs, like LivingWorks' esuicideTALK, can serve a number of purposes. These presentations are for people interested in learning more about suicide and what can be done to help those at risk. They are designed to stimulate or build on concern about suicide. They often provide basic information about signs of suicide risk along with initial helping steps. Some address the needs of those bereaved by suicide. Sometimes, they discuss broader issues about building more supportive suicide-aware networks in communities, schools, and workplaces. Awareness programs usually provide basic information but do not offer opportunities to develop suicide intervention skills. Some find that attending an awareness presentation is sufficient for their needs and interest, while others choose to become more involved and recognize that they will need more skills to do this effectively. Awareness presentations are shorter and aimed at the large number of persons who are sensitized to the problem of suicide. The goal is that members of the audience will identify ways to help, supporting suicide prevention and life-assisting programs in their communities while becoming more willing to refer persons at risk to helpers with intervention skills. Most awareness program audiences will recognize that there is more to learn before they feel willing, ready, and able to intervene to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. Skills training Crisis intervention skills training programs, like LivingWorks' ASIST, equip people to identify and respond to someone at immediate risk of suicide. Just as CPR skills make physical first aid possible, training in suicide intervention develops the skills to offer knowledgeable, competent suicide first aid. These programs also typically explore options for linking people with resources for ongoing help. They should also address caregiver attitudes towards suicide since these personal elements can affect the willingness and effectiveness of an intervention. Skills training programs are longer and are often aimed at people in positions of trust. Depending on the community or organization, these might include chaplains, counselors, mental health professionals, social workers, teachers, and wellness managers—among many others. They are often the ones others turn to in times of difficulty, and in intervention skills programs, they are typically called caregivers or gatekeepers. Intervention training programs are skills-based and provide a solid foundation for intervention and follow-up with someone at risk. Those participating in a suicide intervention skills workshop should leave feeling willing, ready, and able to intervene and prevent the immediate risk of suicide. Intervention skills training participants often feel more empowered to take a leadership role in suicide prevention and life-assisting programs in their communities. Working together to prevent suicide In the end, both awareness and
intervention skills are essential. Every community needs
people who support suicide prevention as well as caregivers
who are prepared to intervene. LivingWorks offers a variety
of programs in each category. Together, they can contribute
to a robust suicide prevention framework for any
community. How can my
community get involved? For some communities, even having one or two suicide intervention caregivers can make a big difference as long as they are widely recognized as people who can help. The more caregivers or alert helpers who are trained, the better—and the more likely that someone at risk of suicide can get timely, life-saving help. Suicide intervention, alertness, and awareness all have a part to play in making a community or organization safer from suicide. To learn more about the ways you or your organization can get involved, please visit our Programs page. If you aren’t certain about what
your community needs, we will be happy to discuss your
situation and suicide prevention goals. Please contact us to
inquire. Together, we can help your community become safer
from suicide. Are You At
Risk? Likely, you are already taking your thoughts of suicide seriously. Being alone with thoughts of suicide is one thing that is known to increase the risk of harm or death. Find someone who is comfortable talking about suicide—someone who will work with you to prevent the risk of these thoughts leading to suicidal actions. One of the quickest and best ways to find out if the helper has these abilities is to tell them that you are having thoughts of suicide and watch their reaction. Don't expect them to be comfortable immediately, but do expect them to show more concern for you than for themselves. If they don't measure up, there are others who will. Don't give up. Once you have found someone, don't expect that the helper is going to keep the danger secret or not want extra help. You want a helper who is honest about how much they can do. Lastly, be honest. Don't say anything just to please the helper or promise anything you can't or won't do. Everyone needs to take the time to find what will really help. Suicide is not the only way out. If you do not know who to reach out to in your community, please see the information by region below. Telephone and text crisis services have provided effective help to many people who are feeling suicidal and can do the same for you. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for 24-hour service Contact Tel: 910-867-8822? Clinical
Workforce Guidelines
Alignment (4 page
PDF)
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