Suicide Prevention in Schools: A QPR “Gatekeeper” Training

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

Troy University

Second Presenter's Institution

Troy University

Third Presenter's Institution

NA

Fourth Presenter's Institution

NA

Fifth Presenter's Institution

NA

Location

Session 5 (Scarbrough 4)

Strand #1

Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

Suicide Prevention in schools is an extremely important topic in all levels of education. The overall emotional, social, and academic pressures that students experience daily have increased the need for multi-tiered services for mental health, but especially suicide. This presentation relates directly to the “HEALTH”: Mental & Physical Health strand.

Brief Program Description

Suicide is one of the leading causes of mortality in children and adolescents, thus becoming of increased interest to schools. This presentation will provide an introduction to suicidality as well as address the roles of school teachers, administrators, and school-based mental health professionals. The participants will learn the QPR suicide prevention approach to “gatekeeping” and receive certification.

Summary

Increased media attention and recent legislations such as the Jason Flatt Act and Jaime’s Law have ignited great interest in suicide prevention in schools. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is the second leading cause of death in children and adolescents. Thus, suicide prevention in schools is paramount to the success and overall well-being of students throughout their educational matriculation.

The aim of this presentation is to provide participants with an introduction to suicidality in the schools to include prevalence, warning signs, protective factors, and targeted populations with elevated risk. Second, the session will identify the roles of teachers, administrators, and school-based mental health professionals such as school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists in suicide prevention. Third, the participants will learn how to apply the QPR suicide prevention approach to “gatekeeping” in the schools through role play. After completion of this session, participants will receive a QPR “gatekeeper” certificate, QPR instructor booklet, and a list of resources.

Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) is an evidenced based gatekeeper program specialized in emergency response to someone in crisis with three basic steps. The program highlights that any person (e.g. teacher and administrator) who is advantageously placed to identify and refer someone vulnerable to attempting suicide (i.e. gatekeeper), not just clinicians can aid in saving a person. The QPR Institute highlights that the main tenets of the program are to recognize the warning signs of suicide, understand the various ways to offer hope, and identify methods to get help to save person’s life.

Evidence

QPR Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention has the prestigious honor of being listed in SAMSHA’s National Registry of Evidenced-based Practices and Policies (NREPP). Independent research reviewers for NREPP reported that individuals trained as QPR gatekeepers have increased declarative and perceived knowledge, self-efficacy, and overall gatekeeping skills to include active listening, making clarifying inquiries, and providing appropriate referrals. The presenters are certified QPR trainers who are qualified to administer QPR training. Therefore, this presentation in based on the instructor’s training manual for QPR provided by the QPR Institute.

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Kanessa Miller Doss is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Troy University. She is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) and National Certified Counselor (NCC). Dr. Doss is also a certified School Counselor and School Psychologist in the state of Alabama. She has nine years of experience as a public school educator. Dr. Doss is also a certified QPR Gatekeeper in Suicide Prevention Training instructor. She is a member and board member of several professional organizations. Her research interests are social-emotional functioning with an emphasis on school/college campus violence, bullying, school psychology advocacy, youth suicide, and accessibility issues.

Dr. Sherrionda H. Crawford is an Associate Professor of School and Clinical Mental Health Counseling in the Division of Counseling, Rehabilitation & Interpreter Training at Troy University (Phenix City, AL). She is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), credentialed as both a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S) in Georgia and Alabama, as well as a Certified School Counselor in the state of Alabama. Prior to becoming a professor at Troy, she provided valuable counseling services to children and adults in both in clinical and school counseling settings. Dr. Crawford actively volunteers for the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) as a scholarship reviewer and mentor. Her research interests include trends in school counseling to include interpersonal violence and suicide prevention, as well as skill acquisition for counselors-in-training.

Keyword Descriptors

suicidality, schools, suicide prevention, QPR, gatekeeper

Presentation Year

March 2020

Start Date

3-10-2020 10:15 AM

End Date

3-10-2020 11:30 AM

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Mar 10th, 10:15 AM Mar 10th, 11:30 AM

Suicide Prevention in Schools: A QPR “Gatekeeper” Training

Session 5 (Scarbrough 4)

Suicide is one of the leading causes of mortality in children and adolescents, thus becoming of increased interest to schools. This presentation will provide an introduction to suicidality as well as address the roles of school teachers, administrators, and school-based mental health professionals. The participants will learn the QPR suicide prevention approach to “gatekeeping” and receive certification.