ASIST Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training

Have you heard about the new one-day training in Suicide Prevention?

CALM one-day Suicide Intervention Training – accredited by Suicide Prevention Australia. To take a look go to :

https://www.talkingmentalhealth.com.au/calm-training/ ‎

ASIST Training dates 2025

June 11th and 12th

Murumbeena Bowls Club, Carnegie

Cost: $445

https://www.trybooking.com/CWTAC

or request a tax invoice by emailing Ann at ann@talkingmentalhealth.com.au

Why is this training so important?

Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 44, with around 3,000 people dying by suicide every year, an average of eight people every day. For every suicide, there are tragic ripple effects for friends, families, colleagues and the broader community. It is s important our community rally together to increase knowledge, earn new kills to identify and support people who are doing it tough. The more awareness will reduce numbers of people dying by suicide or attempting it while reducing the stigma that many are still faced with.ASIST is also proven to reduce suicidality for those at risk.

A 2013 study that monitored over 1,500 suicidal callers to crisis lines found that callers who spoke to ASIST-trained counsellors were 74% less likely to be suicidal after the call, compared to callers who spoke to counsellors trained in methods other than ASIST. Callers were also less overwhelmed, less depressed and more hopeful after speaking with ASIST-trained counsellors.

This doesn’t men you have to be a crisis line worker, as these results translate to anyone with the skills and ability to recognise a person who may be having suicidal thoughts and behaviours. This could be family members, friends , work colleagues or anyone in the community.

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)

ASIST is a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first-aid. ASIST teaches participants to recognise when someone may be at risk of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety. Although ASIST is widely used by healthcare providers, participants don’t need any formal training to attend the workshop—ASIST can be learned and used by anyone.

We also provide the 3.5 hour ASIST TuneUp which participants can complete 2 years after the 2 day training to accredit them for another 2 years in the current version 11.1.

ASIST makes a difference

As the world’s leading suicide intervention workshop, LivingWorks’ ASIST program is supported by numerous evaluations including independent and peer-reviewed studies. Results demonstrate that ASIST helps participants become more willing, ready, and able to intervene with someone at risk of suicide.

FOCUS: Suicide intervention training
DURATION: Two days (15 hours)
PARTICIPANTS: Anyone 16 or older
TRAINERS: Two registered trainers per 15–30 participants

Goals and objectives

In the course of the two-day workshop, course participants learn to:

Understand the ways personal and societal attitudes affect views on suicide and interventions
Provide guidance and suicide first-aid to a person at risk in ways that meet their individual safety needs
Identify the key elements of an effective suicide safety plan and the actions required to implement it
Appreciate the value of improving and integrating suicide prevention resources in the community at large
Recognise other important aspects of suicide prevention including life-promotion and self-care

Participant Information

ASIST is a resource for the whole community. It helps people apply suicide first-aid in many settings: with family, friends, co-workers, and teammates, as well as formal caregiving roles. Many organisations have incorporated ASIST into professional development for their employees. Its widespread use in various communities creates a common language to understand suicide safety issues and communicate across different organisational backgrounds.

For more information go to: Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training – ASIST

Mental Health First Aid for the Suicidal Person

How does the training help reduce suicide rates?

While people at risk of suicide may try to hide how they are feeling, they often give warning signs. These can include changes in behaviour, or how they are thinking or feeling. Our workshops prepare anyone, regardless of experience or training, to help a person who is experiencing suicidal thoughts. Most people with thoughts of suicide don’t really want to die and are struggling with emotional or physical pain. This training teaches people how to see the signs, how to approach the person and keep them safe in the short term until professional or other help can be accessed.

This 4 hour face to face course is based on MHFA’s expert consensus guidelines ‘Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours: First Aid Guidelines’. Curriculum content is evidence-based, with the input of mental health professionals, researchers and consumer advocates.

What will you learn?

How to identify warning signs for suicide
How to confidently support a person in crisis
How to have a conversation with someone experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviours

At the completion of the course you will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to safely have a conversation with a suicidal person.

Who can attend?

Any interested adult can attend, there are no prerequisites for this course. It is important that people signing up for this course are feeling relatively robust when they undertake it. It is not recommended for individuals recently bereaved by suicide.

This training complements the 12-hour Standard MHFA course and the 14-hour Youth MHFA course.

Read more about this course: Mental Health First Aid for the Suicidal Person

Click here to inquire about our courses https://www.talkingmentalhealth.com.au/contact/

https://www.talkingmentalhealth.com.au/course/asist/

The instructor did a fabulous job and clearly has lots of experience in the subject presented. She presented the information in an engaging and easily understood format with a little fun thrown in as well.

Participant July 2022

Thank you Ann for providing us with such a clear and concise Mental Health First Aid 2 day Course. Your manner was so engaging and you allowed everyone to share their stories. Your own personal stories added a personal touch to the sessions, and I feel showed that you were just like us, anyone can have experiences with Mental Illness regardless of profession.

OPMHFA training July 2022 ~ Participant

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID – 2 DAY TRAINING

‘Ann was awesome. She had a lot of knowledge and experience and was able to make clear anything we asked. Ann was able to show us real life examples so as to make the learning relatable’

‘Ann was VERY knowledgeable in this field drawing upon theoretical and practical experience which gave her a huge amount of credibility. She was very engaging and allowed a great deal of student participation’

‘Ann was a wonderful facilitator and tailored the content delivery to make it relevant for our team’

<...

Country Fire Authority ~ Participants April 2022

ASIST Training May 2022

‘Thank you! I found the training very supportive-also excellent pace and extremely relevant to my work. Facilitators were extremely skilled and passionate’

‘Committed, professional and committed trainers’

‘Excellent Training Program-content was extremely useful and the facilitators were very skilled and responded to all our concerns/questions. Thank you Ann and Michelle’

‘Michelle and Ann were wonderful facilitators, creating a supportive and positive training experience on a very difficult topic of suicide. I now feel more comfortable in providing suicide intervention at work and personal environments’

ASIST 2 day Training ~ Participants - Dementia Australia

Facilitators Ann and Vee were amazing. Really enjoyed the content and loved applying the PAL model via role play.

Participant ~ ASIST training Wonthaggi, March 2021

Participant ~ Thank you for your patience and the relaxed and neutral way in which the 2 days were run. The snacks and lunches were excellent and the role plays are essential, I would have liked more.

Participant ~ The ASIST training humanised and simplified responses to suicidal behaviours, made practical and user friendly

Both instructors gave me a clear overall understanding of mental health issues and solutions. Your

knowledge and personal experiences shared made the course very real, without being ….”I’ve done this and

seen that”. Thank you Ann ad Susanne, I really enjoyed your course.

Anonymous surveys ~ Youth Mental Health First Aid - Feb 11th and 12th, 2021, Traralgon

I very much appreciated the friendly nature your presented this course and made me feel very at ease. Your

knowledge and experience you so discreetly shared and your professionalism was very much appreciated. I

will move forward into my role as Liaison Officer Volunteer with the confidence you have taught me. Many

thanks Ann.

Participant ~ Youth Mental Health First Aid - Feb 11th and 12th, 2021, Traralgon

‘Good group engagement and lots of practical examples and interaction with other participants’

‘It was very well presented! Ann and Chris did an amazing job for a wonderful day, thank you!’

‘Easy to understand, loved that she had a full understanding of what she was presenting, including real life experience after years in the field’

‘Ann was a very engaging instructor, who clearly understood this area of practice. It was great to get examples of clients/situations to be able to relate the course information to’

‘Thank you Anne for well ...

Participants from Standard Mental Health First Aid ~ Wonthaggi PCP and Royal Flying Doctors Services, Victoria, Oct 2018

‘Your presentation which encompassed mental health, substance abuse and trauma, together with information on service providers, your participation on the panel, and the materials and links you provided, were very well received. You provided a very informative, insightful, engaging and entertaining presentation. The inclusion of Gippsland specific statistics, which was a shock, was also a highlight for many attendees. You provided attendees with the opportunity to engage in dialogue with you, which was greatly appreciated’.

November 2016

~ Australian Human Resource Institute Gippsland (AHRI)

‘Ann was an excellent instructor, she explained everything in a way it was easy to understand and I felt no question was dismissed’

‘Ann was a very engaging instructor, who clearly understood this area of practice. It was great to get examples of clients/situations to be able to relate the course information to’

‘Ann was an excellent facilitator. As an ex facilitator myself, who plans to do more of this again in the near future I took away lots of new ideas for teaching activities’

‘Ann you were fantastic so open and ...

Participants from Standard Mental Health First Aid ~ Yarram District Health Service November, 2018

‘It was really good to get prepared for when we come across someone having a mental health problem’

‘It was really good doing this course and now I feel I can use what Ive learned in my day to day life’

‘I liked learning what sort of things you need to look for in a friend if they may have a mental health issue’

‘it was a really good curse that I gained lots of info from’

‘this course was very informative. It was an eye opener. I learned how to ...

Students from Year 10 ~ Point Cook Senior Secondary College, May 2018

‘It was great to learn how to help people out and learning how to deal with someone who is injured’

‘My favourite part was learning about the action plan’

‘It was really good to learn all this’

‘My favourite part was learning how to help a friend who is going through hard times’

‘It was educational and I feel like I could help a friend having a mental health problem’

‘Overall it was really good and educational’

Students from Year 10 ~ Point Cook Senior Secondary College, May 2018

“Great presenters, very knowledgeable. Good to learn about how to implement it.”

“This was excellent- really compelling and insightful.”

“Very interesting session, very informative.”

“Excellent information and scenarios relevant to workplace.”

Various attendees ~ Trauma Informed Care (one hour session), May 2018