Suicide prevention is especially important during holidays; free training available to everyone
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
Kentuckians have access to a free, online training to help them learn how to respond when someone is in a crisis related to suicide. The training is called QPR, for Question, Persuade, Refer, and it takes about an hour to complete.
“It teaches individuals how to ask questions and how to respond when somebody might say, ‘Yeah, I’ve been thinking about suicide.’ . . . Many of us have loved ones that we don’t know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, and it’s important to feel confident in asking those questions to be able to address and support those loved ones around us,” Lindsey Jasinski, chief administrative officer of Eastern State Hospital, said at an online press conference about the program.
Jasinski said it’s especially important to know how to respond to someone who may be thinking about suicide during the holidays because that time can be difficult for a variety of reasons. Further, she said the holidays bring forward a lot of new stressors, including increased isolation and depression brought on by the colder weather.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10 to 34 in Kentucky, and it’s the 13th leading cause of death in the commonwealth overall.
Jasinski encouraged Kentuckians to think about QPR like we do cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.
“It’s a training that might be life-saving in a situation that is a crisis,” she said. “And it’s in no way meant to replace the physicians or the other healthcare providers that would also respond in that crisis, but it is a tool to connect to those resources. . . . It really bridges that gap to get to professional support. It’s not meant to replace that professional support.”
Two resources that are available in Kentucky are the National Suicide & Crisis 988 Lifeline and a new mental health emergency unit, called EmPATH on Eastern State Hospital‘s campus in Lexington. EmPATH stands for Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing. It is run by UK HealthCare.
Jasinski added that some people are concerned that asking people if they are suicidal may increase suicidal thoughts, but she said, “This is very much a myth” and is not supported by research.
Sarah Geegan, assistant professor of Integrated Strategic Communication at the University of Kentucky, said the hope is that as many people as possible will take the QPR training, which can be accessed at ukhealthcare.com/qpr.
CC Rhein, a student at the UK College of Communication and Information, took QPR training when she was 14 and said there are two main reasons young people should also take the training.
“That first one is going to be that people in peer groups tend to see each other a little bit more clearly,” Rhein said. “So I, as a student, am able to see when other students are struggling maybe a little bit easier than those parents. . . . Then that other reason is when we start young, we’re able to create a lasting culture of awareness.”