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Specialized suicide prevention
training given in Fort Simpson
Dehcho Health and Social Services staff participate in two-day workshopRoxanna Thompson Northern News Services Published Thursday, November 3, 2011
Approximately nine mental health staff and social workers from Fort Simpson, Fort Liard and Fort Providence as well as a community wellness worker from Hay River and a member of the Fort Simpson RCMP detachment took the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) program from Oct. 25 to 26. Marlene Villebrun, a mental health specialist focusing on addictions with the territorial Department of Health and Social Services, was one of two instructors. ASIST was developed in 1983 by LivingWorks Education, a Calgary-based suicide intervention training company; the program has been evolving since then. The workshop includes learning to identify people who are at risk of suicide, assessing the risk and providing basic suicide first aid intervention, said Villebrun. People who take the training learn how to develop a plan to increase the safety of the person who's at risk and also learn the importance of following up to make sure the person got the specialized help they needed. ASIST is similar to physical first aid because it provides immediate assistance, she said. The training helps caregivers keep people who are thinking about suicide safe until they can get further help from a counsellor, senior doctor or other health care professional, said Villebrun. The training is very interactive and involves role-playing. It is suitable for anyone 16 years or older, she said. The Department of Health and Social Services has provided the training in the past in the territory and was looking to offer it in one of the regions. The Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority helped arrange to have the training in Fort Simpson, said Villebrun. The department is looking to provide ASIST regularly in the communities although no workshop dates are currently set, she said. "We're hoping to train as many people as we can in suicide first aid so that when there's people in the community who are thinking about suicide, there are many helpers around," said Villebrun. "The department certainly sees the ASIST program as a very valuable tool." Abigail Thomas, the regional social services supervisor for the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority, said the authority wanted to host the training to ensure its staff has the skills to assist people who are suicidal or who are thinking about suicide. "We have to be prepared to meet with any kind of situation that comes up," she said. After the two-day workshop, the participants spent a third day talking about how the training fits into the authority's existing protocol. "Everyone really enjoyed the training and it was appreciated," said Thomas. Above-average rates Last year there were seven suicides reported in the territory. In previous years, the number has been slightly higher, including 11 in 2008. The suicide rate in the territory is reported to be on average 1.5 times higher than in the rest of Canada, the exception being Nunavut, said Villebrun.
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