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Suicide prevention skills enhanced with ASIST

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Braydon Williams
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs

People having suicidal thoughts may not come right out and ask for help, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want or need it.

For two days, I attended an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training hosted by the chaplain’s office with 30 others from F.E Warren. I took this training to better understand how to help a person who might be at risk of suicide and to compare this training with others I’ve attended in the past.

If someone is showing potential signs of suicide, simply talking to that person and caring can be their saving grace.

In a previous course I attended, the steps to help someone were: identify the issue(s), intervene and stop them from harming themselves, refer them to a help agency and that was the end of your responsibilities.

In ASIST, you do the same thing, but instead of finding them help and leaving them to it, you continue to help them do whatever is necessary to keep them ‘safe for now’, which was the primary theme of the course.

We started the training with everyone writing out their attitudes about suicide and taking a tally. Unsurprisingly, many different thoughts on the subject came forward.

Among many differing opinions, some said it’s completely wrong, some said they have no right to judge others actions.

The point of the exercise was to show everyone has their own thoughts and attitudes about suicide.

A point that stood out to me in the training was when you’re talking to someone and trying to help them choose life over death, giving your opinion on suicide isn’t going to help them.

Instead of telling them your thoughts on the subject, talk to them. Listen to their story and what has led up to their choice, then try to find something to keep them ‘safe for now’.

Keeping the person ‘safe for now’ means stopping them from harming or killing themselves and helping them to choose life.

I believe this training is a great opportunity to learn vital listening skills that will help you know what to listen for when helping someone at risk of suicide. Anyone would benefit from the lessons it teaches, and I would recommend it to everyone who wants to help prevent suicide.

For more information on the training call the chaplains office at: (307) 773-3434.