The theme for World Mental Health Day 2019 is Suicide Prevention. WHO recommends Gatekeeper training as a way of involving adults in the community in order to prevent suicides. PatientsEngage finds out the options for Gatekeeper training in India
According to a study in The Lancet in 2018, suicide was found to be the leading cause of death among those aged 15-29 in India. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB, 2016) also reports that the youth population (18-30) forming the largest chunk of all national suicides (34.1%).
Gatekeeper Training is a WHO recommended suicide prevention strategy that involves the community. We spoke to two organisations in India offering this training.
Suicide Prevention India foundation
What is Gatekeepers Training? (Is it different from Mental health first aid or part of MHFA?)
Suicide Prevention India Foundation is a section 8, not-for-profit that aims to reduce suicide through a WHO recommended strategy called Gatekeeper training. Gatekeeper training is especially applicable in countries where there might be limited resources for quality mental healthcare.
Gatekeeper training involves training people in the community, who do not necessarily have to be mental health experts in order to prevent suicides. Gatekeepers are trained to recognise the warning signs of suicide in a person, respond with empathy, care and concern and then refer the person to a mental health professional. They are like the mental health equivalent of first responders.
Gatekeeper training is different from mental health first aid - it is more specific to suicide and crisis intervention.
Is it an effective mode of suicide prevention? Any stats globally?
To deliver our training, we have partnered with QPR Institute, based in the USA. QPR Institute was founded by Dr. Paul Quinnett who is an expert in suicide prevention. The QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) method for Gatekeeper Training is evidence based and peer reviewed. Please click here for more details.
Can you actually be trained to spot signs of suicide?
Suicide isn't predictable but it is preventable. One of the ways everyone can be involved is by learning what some of the warning signs are. 8 out of 10 people who attempt suicide give verbal or non verbal signs that they will do so. It isn't easy to pick these up, unless you are trained to do so. Even general physicians can miss these signs, so training is key to picking up on them.
Who should attend?
People often say that only experts - psychiatrists, psychologists and doctors, can prevent suicide. However, suicide prevention is everyone's business. Anyone can attend a Gatekeeper Training and get certified.
What are the reliable options available in India? Are online courses effective
We have received feedback that the online training for QPR has helped a lot of people in responding to friends and loved ones who are suicidal. They are effective however we'd encourage individuals to attend offline trainings as far as possible because we also conduct role plays to ensure the effectiveness of the training. I'm not familiar with helpie's model of training, so cannot comment on the effectiveness of the same. We have an option to conduct both online and offline training, details are available on our website.
What is the best way to register?
If you'd like to do the 1 hour online training from QPR Institute, you can click here. We also conduct 4 hour, offline training done by QPR certified instructors that includes role plays and India relevant material. We can conduct the training for groups upto 40 individuals. Please mail us with more details and we'll get back to you.
What else should we do as a nation and as a community to prevent suicides?
As a nation, we definitely have to implement a Suicide Prevention Policy at the earliest. We've already taken great strides in decriminalising suicide and introducing a Mental Healthcare Act, however, suicide remains the one of the leading causes of death in the country.
As a community, Gatekeeper Training is only the beginning. We need to stop operating from the notion that only experts can prevent suicides, it's everyone's business. Apart from that, Mental health first aid serves as a great add on to the training and courses are available online for people to complete.
Helpie Community Suicide Gatekeeper Training
Helpie Community Suicide Gatekeeper Training is a comprehensive and modern approach to reduce suicidal behavior, which promotes family, school and workplace environments as avenues of social support. Studies reveal that approximately eight out of ten people who take their own lives give definite warning signs of their suicidal intentions. Therefore, it makes sense that the more people that are trained to be alert to these signs and have the skills to take appropriate action, the less the chance of a completed suicide.
Helpie Community Suicide Gatekeeper Training is based on the premise that individuals at risk of suicide come into contact with a range of people prior to taking action. The training provides the acquisition of life skills that enhance individual and community abilities to support people at risk of suicide.
Public Health Reality : Hundreds of trained gatekeepers could possibly save one life; thousands could save hundreds and millions could save thousands.
To know more about the Helpie - Community Suicide Gatekeeper Training Program check the following links below:
- Helpie official webpage: www.helpie.co.in (The program is available and accessible to anyone interested to be a gatekeeper at no cost)
- Helpie community gatekeeper program overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxd0n77KQ_M
This is a boot strapped community based public health initiative, to address the one of the burning issue in mental health - suicide. We have been working in this field for more than 6 years and have created more than 783 Helpies. Ongoing evaluation of the program for its reach and effectiveness is constantly happening and we do plan to publish the same in due course of time.
We basically work on the framework of Recognize, Respect, and Refer.
