Contents

Resources

School & Community Gatekeeper Training

The strategy of educating school and community gatekeepers - a diverse group which includes teachers, school administrators, counselors, youth workers, police officers, coaches, probation officers, foster parents, volunteers, and others who have regular, typically “non-clinical contact” with youth - is a key strategy in the development of any comprehensive youth suicide prevention effort. Such ongoing proximity to youth places these adults in a unique position to be able to detect potential signs of depression and suicide risk in students.

Content of gatekeeper training programs usually includes:

  • Exploration of beliefs and values about suicide
  • Dispelling myths about suicide
  • Warning signs - an example of a mnemonic device (IS PATH WARM) for remembering empirically informed warning signs of suicide
  • Risk and protective factors
  • Risk assessment
  • Safety planning
  • Resources

Skills addressed in gatekeeper training programs usually include:

  • Recognizing risk
  • Developing rapport and cultivating trust
  • Active, non-judgmental listening and support
  • Empathy
  • Asking the question, “are you considering suicide?”
  • Asking specific follow-up questions to better understand risk levels
  • Working collaboratively on a safety plan
  • Knowing who and how to access additional support

Some school districts have collaborated with Child and Youth Mental Health Services to develop staff guidelines for recognizing and responding to a student perceived to be at potential risk of suicide or suicidal behaviour. View an example protocol which has been adapted from a version originally developed by the Howe Sound School District, Ministry of Children and Family Development and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

Implementation Ideas and Tools

For more information on community gatekeeper training opportunities, see the following websites:

LivingWorks

QPR Institute

For a list of resources relevant to gatekeeper training, click here.