UF Counseling Center offers suicide prevention, education program

November 6, 2006

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death in college-age students behind accidents and homicide. Suicidal thoughts and attempts are even more common.

According to the Jed Foundation, approximately 1,100 college students die by suicide each year. Most individuals who feel suicidal give some warning signs of their thoughts or plans. Unfortunately, due to the stigma and complexity of discussing suicide, many warning signs are often disregarded, unrecognized, or not acted upon by family, peers, professors, or others in the campus community. The Jed Foundation reported that fewer than one in five college students receive information about suicide prevention.

To increase awareness of the issue and provide individuals with tools to refer distressed and suicidal individuals for help, the University of Florida Counseling Center has initiated a three-year suicide prevention and education program to provide training to faculty, staff and students. The program is sponsored by a grant from the Division of Student Affairs Parent Fund, which allows the training to be offered free to student groups, classrooms and departments across campus.

The program involves training “Gatekeepers,” who are individuals in a position to interact with others regularly on campus and recognize individuals in distress. In the training, Gatekeepers learn to recognize the warning signs of suicide and how to apply three steps (Question, Persuade and Refer) with individuals who are depressed or contemplating suicide.

The program utilizes the QPR curriculum, nationally recognized by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, as a “Best Practices” program (see www.qprinstitute.com for more information). The training is a 1½-hour interactive presentation incorporating the basic QPR curriculum, interactive case study, and opportunity for questions and discussion. Informational handouts are provided to program participants and are designed to be useful to participants in both their work and personal lives.

QPR training may be arranged at a time and place convenient for the participating group. To schedule a date or ask questions about the QPR training, call the Counseling Center at (352) 392-1575 and ask to speak with Natalie Indelicato or Wayne Griffin. You also may visit the Counseling Center’s Web site (www.counsel.ufl.edu) for more information.