Why this training program?

Youth in the U.S. are experiencing a mental health crisis. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among our young people. We believe those working with our youth need to know as much about mental health and suicidal behaviors, and how to intervene to reduce risk and enhance safety, as is reasonably possible. This course is designed to provide knowledge and skills you can use to protect young people from suicidal self-directed violence.

QPR for Youth Serving Professionals is an adaptation of our original, evidence-based, and widely utilized QPR Gatekeeper Training course. This version of our QPR Gatekeeper Training focuses specifically on youth risk factors, how young people may communicate their thoughts of suicide, and how to question, persuade, and refer a youth to the help they need.

This course is intended for those who teach, counsel, coach, or spend time with our young people, including parents. This training program is designed to help create a safer world not only in our schools, workplace, or community, but also in our personal lives. Taught to well over ten million people, QPR training works as a universal intervention for all people in distress. Not everyone you may ask about suicidal thoughts will have them, but many people are still in crisis and will need help and behavioral health evaluation, perhaps even treatment.

Program goals

Upon completion of training, all participants should be able to:

• Understand suicide as a major public health problem for our youth
• Understand the common myths and facts surrounding youth suicide
• Identify unique verbal, behavioral, and situational youth suicide warning signs
• Recognize and respond to a youth in distress who may be at risk of suicide
• Know how to inquire about suicidal intent and desire
• Recognize at least three youth suicide warning signs
• Recognize at least three youth risk factors for suicide
• Recognize at least three youth-oriented protective factors against suicide
• Demonstrate increased knowledge, skills, self-efficacy and intent to act to intervene with suicidal youth and others
• Know how to engage and assist a suicidal young person
• Demonstrate increased knowledge about suicide and its causes
• Engage in an interactive and helpful conversation with a youth who has attempted suicide
• Engage in an interactive and helpful conversation with the loved ones or family members of someone who has died by suicide

WHAT THIS TRAINING PROGRAM IS NOT

This training is not a substitute for a college degree in counseling or other helping profession, nor can it provide the face-to-face supervised experience students need to polish their skills.

• This is not a train-the-trainer program.
• The QPR Institute does not vet or otherwise qualify students for this course.