QPR

Q.P.R. Question, Persuade and Refer. You may be in the best possible position to prevent suicide and you will find that QPR is designed to help you help someone who may be considering suicide. QPR consists of three life-saving skills. How to Question.. a person about suicide Persuade.. the person to get help and Refer.. the person to the appropriate resource.

It is not intended to be a form of counseling or treatment. It is intended to offer hope through positive action. It is intended to teach those who are in a position to recognize the warning signs, clues and suicidal communication of people in trouble at ACT vigorously to prevent a possible tragedy.

Contact Outreach and Prevention Services to learn how training can be provided for you and your department.

Question, Persuade, Refer

Alarming as it may sound, suicide is ranked as the second leading cause of death among youth in the country, with 11.9 percent of deaths among 15-24 year olds.

The college climate is a place for personal growth and career aspirations, but academic achievers are often at a high risk for suicide due to their high self-imposed expectations and undiagnosed depression.  Sometimes falling through the cracks because they are deemed as “successful”, high academic achievers may pride themselves from reaching out for assistance. The pressure of graduating and embarking on the rest of life also causes graduating students to be at risk for suicide.

While these statistics are not meant to scare people, the reality of depression and suicide is prevalent, even in Colorado, which ranks 6th in the nation for suicide. Colorado State’s University Counseling Center has started implementing innovative training sessions for faculty, staff and students to openly talk about suicide prevention. The program, Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), is a training program currently offered at 10-15 percent of universities nationwide.

“The idea is to train as many people as possible on suicide prevention, and a lot of research supports this,” Michael Daine, Director of the University Counseling Center said. Daine strongly believed in the value of the program and began QPR at Colorado State in the fall 2007.

“Question a person about suicide, Persuade the person to get help, and Refer the person to the appropriate resource,” are the three life-saving skills stated in the program handbook. QPR’s 90 minute training session enables regular people to openly talk about depression and suicide. The premise of the program is to build confidence and awareness in suicide prevention.

“The more people that know and have recognition of depression, the better we can recognize the need,” Pam McCracken, Director of Outreach and Prevention Services in the University Counseling Center said.

McCracken is one of five certified trainers at Colorado State for the program, and these five can train other members of the university. Offering small group training in a face-to-face climate, QPR trainers educate on myths, warning signs, and behavioral cues to identify symptoms on suicide and depression. The next step educates on the referral process of resources within the campus and community.

“With suicide there are signs along the way that lead up to suicide,” McCracken said, “QPR offers tips and techniques to talk to someone about these signs.”

Thus far, QPR has trained 142 faculty, staff and students at Colorado State since October 2007. Departments who have participated in the training process include the Department of Athletics, CASA and the Education Department, to name a few.

“For us, it would be great to get to a certain percentage point of people who have QPR training,” McCracken stated, “This is a way to instill hope in people.”