Training Options

Training Options

Recognizing that everyone has a role to play in preventing suicide, New York State provides a variety of evidence-based trainings, workshops, online learning modules, and resources to meet the specific needs of clinicians, other health care workers, community members, and school staff.

NYS Employee Suicide Prevention Training

Suicide is preventable and it requires that all New Yorkers do their part, including knowing the basics about how to talk to someone who may be considering killing themselves and how to connect them with help. For most of us, it can be an uncomfortable topic to discuss, even with those we care about most.

To help individuals better understand how to identify and discuss suicide ideation – Former Governor Cuomo, the NYS Office of Mental Health and the NYS Governor’s Office of Employee Relations initiated a new mandate for all executive agency employees that requires them to complete a twenty-five-minute suicide prevention training.  This training is designed to help individuals recognize the warning signs of suicide in others and in themselves, effectively engage with a person in distress by speaking up and listening, and how to connect the person with professional help.

This brief training, which will be located in the Statewide Learning Management System, delivers on one of the recommendations from former Governor Cuomo’s Suicide Prevention Task Force calling for training for New York State employees. If you’re a state employee and are unable to access the training program, please contact your training director. If you’re not a state employee and would like to complete the training, please submit the required information on our Contact Us webpage.

For Clinicians and Health Care Workers

The following suicide prevention-related trainings are hosted on the Center for Practice Innovations (CPI) online Learning Management System (LMS). There are several trainings that support the Assess, Intervene, and Monitor (AIM) model of suicide-safer care, as well as trainings on additional topics related to suicide prevention.

Access to these trainings is currently restricted to individuals working for OMH/OASAS-licensed agencies or for agencies participating in New York State grants or special projects and requires the agency to be registered in the CPI LMS. Please email cpihelp@nyspi.columbia.edu for questions regarding access.

For Non-Clinical Staff: 

  • Suicide Prevention for Health Care Workers

Assess:

  • The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS): A Tool to Detect and Assess Suicidal Risk
  • Comprehensive Suicide Risk Assessment
  • Suicide Screening and Risk Assessment with Youth

Intervene:

Monitor 

  • Structured Follow-Up and Monitoring for Suicidal Individuals

Other:

  • Engaging Families and Social Supports in Working with Suicidal Individuals
  • Assess, Intervene, and Monitor for Suicide Prevention (AIM-SP): Introducing a Suicide-Safer Care Pathway for Clients at Elevated Risk
  • Assess, Intervene, and Monitor for Suicide Prevention (AIM-SP): Model of Suicide-Safer Care for Children and Adolescents
  • Optimizing Clinical Care for Suicidal Individuals
  • Introduction to Cognitive Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CT-SP): A Two-Part Series
  • Problem Solving Strategies for Suicidal Clients
  • Suicide Prevention in First Episode Psychosis: A Two-Part Series
  • Functional Analysis of Suicidal Behavior: A Clinical Intervention for Suicide Prevention

To learn more about these and additional trainings, please visit this website.

*Available free of charge on the Zero Suicide website.

Communities

Community Gatekeeper and Brief Intervention Trainings

Gatekeeper trainings are delivered in communities across New York State.  A gatekeeper is someone who is strategically positioned to help those at risk for suicide.  Gatekeepers can be anyone and may include teachers, doctors, nurses, family, friends, clergy, police officers, colleagues, and firefighters.  Browse the list below to find a training that best meets your needs.

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)

ASIST is a two-day practice-dominated course to help caregivers learn to recognize and review risk, and to intervene to prevent imminent risk of suicide.  Fifteen contact hours are available for Social Workers, Licensed Mental Health Counselors, and Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselors (CASACs).  

Suicide Alertness For Everyone-Tell Ask Listen Keepsafe (SafeTALK)

SafeTALK is a half-day alertness training that prepares anyone 15 or older, regardless of prior experience or training, to recognize warning signs, effectively communicate with individuals who are thinking about suicide, and connect them with life-saving intervention resources.  Three contact hours are available for Social Workers, Licensed Mental Health Counselors, and Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselors (CASACs).

Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR)

QPR is a one-hour training that instructs participants to recognize the signs of a suicidal crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Similar to CPR, an emergency medical intervention, QPR is an emergency mental health intervention.

School Staff and Administrators

Below is a full menu of professional development and training opportunities designed to meet the suicide prevention needs of school staff and community members.   

Creating Suicide Safety in School

This full day (six hours) workshop is designed to assist school administrators, school-based mental health and health professionals, school safety staff, and school counselors with planning suicide prevention activities.  Sometimes board members, teachers, and parents attend; it is ideal to include members of the school community who are vested in assessing current prevention and response readiness and providing recommendations for improvements.  Implementation teams come together to spend the day learning about suicide and best practices in prevention. Small and large group discussions facilitate the development of a customized action plan.

Suicide Safety for Teachers and School Staff

This 60- to 90-minute training is designed to meet the basic needs of school administration, faculty, and staff.  Emphasis is on recognizing warning signs, clarifying the referral process in place at school, and making a warm handoff.   

Helping Students at Risk for Suicide

The focus of this full day (six hours; administrative overview is two hours) workshop is to incorporate the process of assessing, intervening, safety planning, and following up when there is concern that a student may be at-risk for suicide.  This training is suitable for school-based health, mental health, pupil services, school safety professionals, administrators, special education, and pupil services administrators. The goals are two-fold: 1) to improve the competence and confidence of school-based professionals to intervene when suicide risk is identified, and 2) to assist school leaders with developing standardized policies and procedures to support best practices in suicide intervention.  

 

Suicide Prevention in Faith Communities

Faith communities are a natural setting for suicide prevention. Spiritual beliefs and practices help people experience greater hope and meaning in their lives. Especially at times of increased isolation and anxiety, faith community leaders have an important role to play.

SPCNY is offering free, online training for Christian Faith Leaders of all denominations.

Learn about LivingWorks Faith training 

Request a Faith training:  SPCNY.Training@omh.ny.gov

Additional Training and Consultation

SPCNY can provide communities and organizations with workshops on the basics of postvention and how to develop a coordinated postvention response for your community or organization.  SPCNY can also provide consultation and tailored workshops for school- and community-related suicide prevention content that fits your specific needs. For any questions about SPCNY’s trainings and workshops, please email SPCNY.Training@omh.ny.gov