The University of Oregon Suicide Prevention Team and the University Counseling and Testing Center are hosting two suicide prevention trainings for faculty and staff to teach suicide-warning signs and how to steer at-risk students toward professional help.

The trainings run from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 21 and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 9. Registration is available through Suzie Stadelman.

Trainings for offices or departments with eight or more participants are available through request. These run from one to two hours, depending on need.

One-hour trainings teach participants how to recognize suicide-warning signs and raise awareness of campus resources. Trainings of 90 minutes to two hours highlight communication skills that can help students in distress, and often include role-play that demonstrates effective intervention.

The university’s efforts to reduce the risk of suicide include the Suicide Prevention Team, an interdisciplinary group that meets monthly to explore ways to enhance suicide prevention on campus. For more information, contact Suzie Stadelman.

Additionally, there is the Suicide Report Form for those who become aware of an apparently at-risk student.

After the form is initiated, the campus Suicide Assessment Team will contact the initiator to obtain additional details.

Depending on the level of assessed risk, the team may work with them to engage the student in getting help informally, or the Dean of Students Office may require that the student attend suicide assessment sessions in which their risk is further evaluated and they are educated in positive coping skills.

Research has shown that a program of this kind is one of the few interventions that demonstrably reduce suicide risk on campus.

The Faculty & Staff section of the counseling and testing center website includes additional online resources for helping students in distress. The UO also created a video on suicide titled“100 Reasons to Stay.”

- by Katherine Cook, UO Office of Strategic Communications intern