For Providers and Professionals
Information
General
Best Practices Registry for Suicide Prevention
The purpose of the BPR is to identify, review, and disseminate information about best practices that address specific objectives of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.
The Best Practices Registry (BPR) for Suicide Prevention: A New Tool for Suicide Prevention
Linda Langford, Evaluation Specialist, SPRC and Phil Rogers, Program Evaluation Specialist, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
August 27, 2007
Florida DCF Baker Act Resources
Helping Someone in Suicidal Crisis: Quick Reference Guide [PDF, 29K]
Counseling Suicidal Callers: A Step by Step Quick Reference Guide [PDF, 25K]
Suicide Postvention Protocol for Schools and Communities. A list of recommended postvention best practice protocol manual to assist communities after an emergency or suicide death.
Suicide Prevention and Self-Injurious Behavior in the School by Dr. Frank J. Zenere [PDF, 1MB]
Dr. Frank Zenere is a leading expert in the field of school crisis and safety, as well as suicide postvention. This training covers school suicide postvention goals, response protocol, risk identification strategies, key messages for students and parents, how to manage memorial activities, risk factors for imitative suicide, and how to prevent further contagion. This information is copyrighted by Dr. Zenere and should not be reproduced without his permission. For more information or to request a presentation, he may be contacted at fzenere@dadeschools.net.
Suicide Prevention & Education for Teens
A presentation for teens created developed by the Caring Tree Program of Big Bend Hospice and Capital City Youth Services.
Mental Health Professionals
Suicide Postvention in the School Community for Mental Health Professionals" by Dr. Frank J. Zenere [PDF, 76K]
Suicide Prevention Resource Center - Resources For Social Workers/Counselors
Suicide Prevention Resource Center - Resources For School Health and Mental Health Care Providers
The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment (Shea)
This outstanding book is informative, interesting, and clinically useful. Shea emphasizes that suicide is a major public health concern.
It is the ninth leading cause of death in adults and the third leading cause in the 15-25-year-old age group; from 1952 to 1992, the adolescent and young adult rate tripled. Prevention of suicide depends on the timely assessment of suicide risk. Shea says that timely assessment depends on clinicians' overcoming their own fixed ideas and basing their assessment on three pillars: analyzing the risk factors and predictors, uncovering and understanding suicidal ideation, and developing prevention strategies.
Safety planning tools developed by Veterans Affairs to aid clinicians in the care of suicidal patients
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has completed work on clinical tools to help mental health professionals develop safety plans for their clients and patients at increased risk for suicide. Leaders in the field have been promoting the use of safety plans for some time, but this is the first time a clear, easy to follow manual has been available to the field at no cost. “When developed collaboratively with the patient, safety plans are an important, perhaps essential, component of the overall care of high-risk patients,” according to Dr. Jan Kemp at the VA Center of Excellence in Canandaigua, New York. The manual walks clinicians through each aspect of working with patients to develop a six-step safety plan customized for the individual patient. Although the manual was developed for Veterans Affairs, the principles are directly transferable to practice with most other populations. A sample safety plan is illustrated at the conclusion of the manual. The VA also produced a pocket guide to developing a safety plan.
These products are available in SPRC’s online library:
http://library.sprc.org/item.php?id=626
http://library.sprc.org/item.php?id=627
http://library.sprc.org/item.php?id=628
Stop Speaking Shrink: Reducing the Stigma of Help Seeking Behavior Through Context and Content.
Drug Abuse / Addiction Specialists
Suicide Prevention Resource Center - Resources for Primary Care Physicians
TIP 50 Addressing Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Substance Abuse Treatment
Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) 50 is a new resource from SAMHSA for substance abuse treatment professionals and administrators. Designed to increase understanding about this issues, TIP 50 describes the reasons individuals with substance use disorders who are in treatment are at high risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Nurses and Physicians
Suicide Prevention Resource Center - Resources for Nurses
Additional Articles and Web Sites For Nurses [PDF, 101K]
Suicide Prevention Resource Center - Resources for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Counselors
Tardive Dyskinesia Center - Helping Families Regain Control
Tardive dyskinesia is a condition typically caused by certain psychoactive drugs such as anti-depressants, or "dopamine antagonists" (drugs that block dopamine receptors, used to treat disorders of the nervous or circulatory system). When a patient has been taking certain prescription drugs over a long period of time, often at high dosages, involuntary, repetitive tic-like movements can result, primarily in the facial muscles or (less commonly) the limbs, fingers and toes. The hips and torso may also be affected.
Physician / Medical Student Depression and Suicide – 60 or 90 minute presentations. Each film is presented to the group with facilitated discussion afterwards. Display of resources and pamphlets is included.
- Struggling in Silence: Physician Depression and Suicide Community Resource Video, 17 minutes
- Out of the Silence: Medical Student Depression and Suicide, 15 minutes
- Struggling in Silence, one-hour documentary featured on public television stations nationwide
Training
Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk: Core Competencies for Mental Health Professionals
The AMSR Training is a one-day workshop for mental health professionals and employee assistance professionals. The workshop focuses on competencies that are core to assessing and managing suicide risk and is a collaboration of the American Association or Suicidology and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. View a list of AMSR Trained in Florida [PDF, 53K].
Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide (CAMS)
The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) was developed to modify clinician behaviors in how they initially identify, engage, assess, conceptualize, treatment plan, and manage suicidal outpatients. This approach integrates a range of theoretical orientations into a structure clinical format emphasizing the importance of the counselor and client working together to elucidate and understand the "functional" role of suicidal thoughts and behaviors from the client's perspective. Based on clinical research in various outpatient settings, CAMS provides mental health counselors with a novel clinical approach that is tailored to a suicidal client's idiosyncratic needs thereby insuring the effective clinical assessment, treatment, and tracking of high risk suicidal clients.
Question, Persuade, Refer, and Treat (QPR-T)
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer - 3 simple steps that anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR 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. As a QPR 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.
Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk: Essential Skills for Clinicians
RRSR is an advanced, interactive training based on established core competencies that mental health professionals need in order to effectively assess and manage suicide risk. The program includes a web-based assessment; two online, self-paced modules; a two-day face to face workshop; and post-workshop mentorship through online learning activities. The goal is for clinicians to be confident, competent, and prepared to meet the needs of distressed clients and their families. View a list of RRSR trained in Florida [67K]. List provided by the University of South Florida, Florida Mental Health Institute
Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk in Primary Care
RRSR-PC is a one-hour training program that provides Physicians, Nurses/Nurse Practitioners, and Physicians Assistants with the knowledge they need in order to integrate suicide risk assessments into routine office visits, to formulate relative risk, and to work collaboratively with patients to change treatment plans.
Skills Training For Managing People at Risk of Suicide (STORMS)
This paper reports a study evaluating the Skills Training on Risk Management (STORM) training initiative in three mental health services in the North-West of England, UK.
SuicideCare: Aiding life alliances (Living Works, Ed)
This is a one day seminar that introduces frontline caregivers and professionals to advanced clinical practices beyond suicide first aid care. A structure clinical risk assessment underlies the matching of an appropriate helping strategy with the needs of the person at risk. This seminar focuses upon suicide-specific tools that are rarely provided in formal training. As a suicideCare-trained frontline caregiver or professional, you will be better able to: perform a comprehensive risk assessment; negotiate an appropriate helping strategy with a person at risk; appreciate how beliefs, attitudes and practices can shape an effective helping relationship.
Annual Suicide Prevention Symposium
This event brings together mental health and substance abuse professionals, marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, nurses, psychologists, state agencies, and survivors to learn about the latest research and best practices in the field of suicide prevention. Workshops address multiple facets of the suicide prevention spectrum while highlighting collaborative strategies to impact individuals, communities, and the state. The Symposium illustrates just how imperative partnerships and collaboration are to achieving reduced suicide rates.
NAMI Provider Education Program [PDF, 50K]
An education program developed by the National Alliance on Metal Illness for mental health service providers co-taught by consumers, professionals, and family members.
NAMI In Our Own Voice: General Information [PDF, 70K]
A one-and-a-half hour interactive, multimedia presentation by consumers that offers hope and provides insight into the recovery now possible for people with mental illness.
Webinars
New Developments in Understanding and Treating Self-Injury
Dr. Barent Walsh, author of the new book "Treating Self-Injury: A Practical Guide".
June 13, 2006
Suicide Prevention among Older Adults
Jerry Reed, MSW, Executive Director, SPAN USA
August 11, 2005