ASIST Trainings
www.TheCitizensWhoCare.org
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Are
You At Risk?
ASIST 2-Day
Training
Who
should attend?
Who
provides ASIST workshops?
What
are the core features of an
ASIST workshop?
What
is the structure of an
ASIST workshop?
Does
ASIST provide
CEU credits?
How
much does it cost to attend?
What
is ASIST 11?
How
does ASIST align with the National Action Alliance for
Suicide Prevention's clinical workforce preparedness
guidelines?
Suicide
Intervention Training for K-12 Schools: A Quasi-Experimental
Study on ASISTFrequently
Asked Questions
Which
does my community need - awareness or intervention skills
training?
Working
together to prevent suicide
How
can my community get involved?
Additional
Reading
Bully
Resources,
Response,
Kognito,
ASIST
ASIST 2-Day
Training
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is a
two-day interactive workshop in suicide first aid. ASIST
teaches participants to recognize when someone may have
thoughts of suicide and work with them to create a plan that
will support their immediate safety. Although ASIST is
widely used by healthcare providers, participants don't need
any formal training to attend the workshopanyone 16 or
older can learn and use the ASIST model.
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
- Over the course of their two-day
workshop, ASIST participants learn to:
- Understand the ways that personal
and societal attitudes affect views on suicide and
interventions
- Provide guidance and suicide first
aid to a person at risk in ways that meet their
individual safety needs
- Identify the key elements of an
effective suicide safety plan and the actions required to
implement it
- Appreciate the value of improving
and integrating suicide prevention resources in the
community at large
- Recognize other important aspects
of suicide prevention including life-promotion and
self-care
Workshop features:
Presentations and guidance from two
LivingWorks registered trainers
- A scientifically proven
intervention model
- Powerful audiovisual learning
aids
- Group discussions
- Skills practice and
development
- A balance of challenge and
safety
ASIST helps to build regional networks
of trained caregivers who can support each and use common
terminology to approach suicide and safety.
Source: www.livingworks.net/programs/asist/
Who should
attend?
We mean it when we say that ASIST is for everyone.
Virtually anyone aged 16 and older can learn the skills to
intervene and save a life from suicide. Professionals as
well as members of the community at large have all found
great value in ASIST over the years.
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 doesnt 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.
Studies show
www.livingworks.net/resources-and-support/research-and-evaluation/
Who provides
ASIST workshops?
Each ASIST workshop is led by at least two registered
LivingWorks trainers. In order to become registered,
trainers must complete an intensive course called an ASIST
Training for Trainers (T4T), present workshops regularly,
and submit continuous quality assurance reports. Some ASIST
trainers work independently while others belong to agencies
and organizations, but all of them share a commitment to
excellence in suicide intervention skills training.
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?
Each ASIST workshop shares many core features that make
up the LivingWorks international standard. Here is what you
can expect at your ASIST training:
- ASIST is held over two consecutive
days for a total of 15 hours.
- ASIST is based on principles of
adult learning. It values participants experiences
and contributions and encourages them to share actively
in the learning process.
- ASIST workshops always have a
minimum of two active ASIST trainers present for the
entire two days. If there are more than 30 participants,
there will be at least three trainers. Workshops over 45
participants are not recommended and should be split into
two separate sessions instead.
- Trainers show two award-winning
videos in the course of the workshop. Cause of Death?
provides a common starting point for the discussion of
attitudes about suicide, while two versions of It Begins
with You illustrate the process of a suicide
intervention.
- Some parts of ASIST take place
with all participants together, and others take place in
a smaller work group. This helps create a balance between
safety and challenge. Participants need not disclose
personal experiences to the whole group.
- Local resources are provided and
their availability in the community is
discussed.
- Participant materials include a
20-page workbook, wallet card, and stickers. Participants
also receive a certificate upon completing the
workshop.
What is the
structure of an ASIST workshop?
The ASIST workshop is divided into five sections that follow
in a logical progression to gradually build comfort and
understanding around suicide and suicide intervention.
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?
Although CEU standards vary from one organization to
another, many agencies and licensure boards will grant CEU
(continuing education unit) credits for attending an ASIST
workshop. For more information, please see the CEU resource
page.
How much does it
cost to attend?
The cost of attending an ASIST workshop varies by location
for a number of reasons. For example, some organizations may
subsidize workshop costs. You will be able to see these
costs when you find a local training and
register.
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?
ASIST started in 1983. ASIST 11 is the current program
version. Why you should take the latest version if you had
taken an ASIST workshop before 2013 (ASIST 10
version.). Details and information can be found
here.
How does
ASIST align with the National Action Alliance for
Suicide Prevention's clinical workforce preparedness
guidelines?
We are pleased to note that the ASIST workshop is a strong
match for the clinical workforce preparedness training
guidelines developed by the National Action Alliance for
Suicide Prevention, meeting or exceeding virtually all of
the recommendations within the intervention scope. To help
illustrate this alignment, we have prepared a downloadable
document outlining ASISTs alignment with the
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 Alliances
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
,
a 64 page pdf file
Source: www.livingworks.net/programs/asist/
Suicide
Intervention Training for K-12 Schools: A Quasi-Experimental
Study on ASIST
Evidence of effectiveness is importantit lets us
know that what were doing is working, and it enables
participants and organizers around the world to make
informed decisions about which suicide prevention training
programs to use. To help the LivingWorks community learn
more about evaluation studies of our programs, were
launching a new newsletter feature: get to know a study! We
encourage you to share information about these studies with
the participants, organizations, and key stakeholders you
work and train with.
This month, were 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 didnt 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 InventorySecond 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 knowledgehowever,
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).
- Suicide intervention skills: 13%
more variance explained; 0.32 standard deviation (SD)
score increase
- Attitudes toward suicide: 35%
variance explained; 0.63 SD increase
- Knowledge of suicide: 43% variance
explained; 1.86 SD increase
- Comfort, competence, and
confidence in responding to individuals at risk of
suicide: 33% variance explained; from .68 to 1.71 SD
increases
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 K12 Schools: A
Quasi-Experimental Study on ASIST. Journal of Counseling
& Development, 95: 313.
Source: Email from
March, 2017 LivingWorks Newsletter
Frequently Asked
Questions
Source:
www.livingworks.net/resources-and-support/livingworks-faq/
Which
does my community need - awareness or intervention skills
training?
Suicide prevention programs tend to focus on either
awareness or skills training. Both are important and can
contribute to a community's suicide safety.
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 managersamong
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.
Source: www.livingworks.net/resources-and-support/livingworks-faq/
How can my
community get involved?
Communities come in all shapes and sizes. Because
communities are so diverse, there is no one size fits
all solution for suicide awareness, prevention, and
intervention. This is why LivingWorks offers a range of
programs with adaptable components to meet specific
needs.
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 betterand 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 arent 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.
Source:
www.livingworks.net/resources-and-support/livingworks-faq/
Are You At
Risk?
Do you feel you're at risk? Are you concerned about
someone being suicidal? Sometimes people end up on the
LivingWorks website because they are actually looking for
personal help. If someone were to ask you right now if you
are having thoughts of suicide, what would your honest
answer be? If yes, this is likely a difficult time for you.
You do not need to go through this alone.
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
suicidesomeone 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
Crisis Text Line - 741741 for 24/7 access to a trained
couselor through the safety of texting.
Veterans Crisis Line: Call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1 or
text to 838255
Source: www.livingworks.net/resources-and-support/are-you-at-risk/
Contact
LivingWorks Education
LP
P.O. Box 9607
Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311
Tel: 910-867-8822?
Toll Free (in NA): 1-888-733-5484
Fax: 910-867-8832?
Email: usa@livingworks.net
Additional
Reading
Clinical
Workforce Guidelines
Alignment (4 page
PDF)
ASIST
Information Sheet (2
page PDF)
©2007-2023,
www.TheCitizensWhoCare.org/asist.html
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