As helpline workers, one of the most important duties we have outside of our actual work on the lines is to continue regular training. Training can help reinforce existing skills in areas such as emotional support, suicide risk assessment and crisis intervention, but also teach you skills in areas you may not have experience in…
Tag: professional development
Suicide Intervention Response Inventory (SIRI)
The Suicide Intervention Response Inventory is designed to assess the ability of paraprofessionals (as well as professionals) to recognize and respond to suicidal statements. (Neimeyer R.A. & Maclnnes, 1981) It is comprised of 25 segments, each of which represents an excerpt from a counselling session, and two potential responses. The test-user must rank the responses…
Online Counselling and Suicide Intervention Specialist (OCSIS) Review
The Online Counselling and Suicide Intervention Specialist (OCSIS) course is an online, self-study 40-hour course designed to teach basic suicide intervention skills and focusing on online and chat environments, offered by the QPR Institute. Given the changes in help-seeking behaviour, with more people, especially youth moving online (Horrigan & Rainie, 2006) it’s important that helplines…
Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM)
Counseling on Access to Lethal Means, or CALM is a course originally developed by Harvard Public Health that is now available in an online format through the Suicide Prevention Resource Centre. It is a 90 to 120 minute course designed for counsellors, therapists, crisis workers and others who work directly with suicidal persons, and makes…
CPR Model of Suicide Risk Assessment
NOTE: While this assessment is still very useful, I have changed my recommendation for a comprehensive suicide risk assessment to the DCIB Suicide Risk Assessment. You can see a video of this post here. Suicide Risk Assessment with CPR Model The CPR Model is a simple and effective model for suicide risk assessment. It is…