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Suicide prevention training to be offered this summer
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
The Student Wellness Team will offer four suicide-prevention training sessions this summer for faculty, staff and students to ensure that students who want or need help are not left to struggle on their own.
Question-Persuade-Refer (QPR) training—a behavioral intervention program that focuses on helping distressed students access professional help—is scheduled from 1-3 p.m. June 11, 9-11 a.m. July 5, 1-3 p.m. July 11 and 3-5 p.m. Aug. 7. All sessions will be held in 210 Student Union, North Campus.
"QPR promotes wellness within the UB community by offering hope to people and by acknowledging that those in psychological pain are noticed, valued and do not have to suffer alone and in silence," says Sharon Mitchell, director of counseling services—part of the Student Wellness Team that includes Health Services and Wellness Education Services, as well as Counseling Services. "In learning how to ask about suicide, participants also learn how to express care, concern and provide information in general about resources available to students who are struggling."
Teaching others to recognize and respond to the warning signs of suicide is important to the Student Wellness Team, Mitchell says, since untreated depression is the leading cause of suicide, which, in turn, is the second-leading cause of death among college students.
So far, more than 330 members of the university community have participated in QPR training since the program began this spring, including 188 staff members, 120 students and 13 faculty members. Participating offices and departments have ranged from Athletics and Residence Life to advisors in the School of Management and University Police.
"We're particularly interested in increasing the number of faculty trained," Mitchell adds. "They interact with students on a frequent basis and are therefore in a position to witness some of the signs that a student is in emotional distress."
QPR is based on simple-to-learn methods that benefit professionals and non-professionals alike. Participants in the 60- to 90-minute summer training sessions will learn from certified instructors how to recognize the warning signs of suicide—including the verbal, behavioral and situational clues that 90 percent of individuals considering suicide use to signal their intent—as well as how to question an individual about suicidal thoughts, persuade them to seek help and refer the person to professional resources on campus.
Each session also includes a question-and-answer period, and participants will receive a free QPR booklet, information card and information about treatment providers and support groups on campus, as well as in the greater Buffalo area.
"Students at risk for mental health problems often go unassisted because those around them are either unaware of the warning signs and symptoms of their distress or are uncomfortable broaching the subject with them," says Mitchell. "One goal for the Student Wellness Team is to create a campus atmosphere that encourages help-seeking and early identification."
QPR suicide prevention training is part of the larger "my SELF matters," a comprehensive, campuswide campaign targeting suicide and other harmful behaviors provided by the Student Wellness Team under a three-year, $193,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Only 34 institutions nationwide received similar grants in 2006.
For more information about the program, click here. To register for QPR suicide prevention training, contact Thom Neill in Counseling Services at tjneill@buffalo.edu.