Summary
This more in-depth training allows learners to practice skills and helps address myths and barriers around suicide. Learn to talk openly about suicide, reach out to someone with thoughts of suicide, and connect them with further support in a half-day, face-to-face workshop.
Additional outcomes:
Increased willingness to intervene, increased knowledge of suicide, increased confidence/willingness talking about suicide
Strategies supporting educational equity (CASEL)
Not available at this time.
Implementation
Below are key implementation details for this program. These specifications help determine if the program is a good fit for your school or organization.
Grade(s)
High School (9-12)
Setting
Schoolwide, Community
Language
English, Additional Languages
Cost
Contact provider
# Lessons
Half-day face to face workshop
Program Design
Tier 1 (Universal)
Technology Requirements
None required
Staffing Requirements
Trainer required
Professional Development
Onsite
Outcomes
Decreased substance use
Improved attitude/behavior related to substance use
Advocate for reducing stigma associated with emotional and mental and behavioral health
Compare & contrast emotional, mental-behavioral illness, mental well-being and concurrent disorders
Decreased suicidal behavior
Describe how self-harm or suicide impacts other people
Describe laws related to minors accessing mental health care
Explain how to help someone who is thinking about attempting suicide
Identify school and community resources that can help a person with emotional, mental and behavioral health concerns
Improved Academic Performance
Improved attitude/behavior related to suicide
Improved identification of individuals at-risk for suicide
Improved Identity Development/ Agency
Improved Prosocial Behavior
Improved School Climate
Improved School Connectedness
Improved SEL Skills and Attitudes
Improved Teaching Practices
Increased help-seeking behavior
Reduced Emotional Distress
Reduced Problem Behavior
Mental Health Literacy Components
This program addresses the following mental health literacy components:
Understanding stigma and strategies for stigma reduction
Understanding how to foster & maintain positive mental health
Understanding how to seek help effectively
Understanding common mental health disorders, signs and symptoms, and treatments
Evidence of Effectiveness
Two non-RCT studies have implemented safeTALK with high school students. A decision analytic modelling study found gains in suicide-related knowledge, confidence, and willingness to intervene with someone with thoughts of suicide and participants reported an increased likelihood of engaging in help-seeking behaviour themselves (Kinchin et al., 2020). Another study with 129 high school students found increased knowledge about suicide, confidence in talking about issues related to suicide, willingness to talk about suicide, and the likelihood of both offering and seeking help (Bailey et al., 2017).
Published Studies
Kinchin, I., Russell, A. M., Petrie, D., Mifsud, A., Manning, L., & Doran, C. M. (2019). Program evaluation and decision analytic modelling of universal suicide prevention training (safeTALK) in secondary schools. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 18, 311-324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-019-00505-3
Bailey, E., Spittal. M. J., Pirkis, J., Gould, M., & Robinson, J. (2017). Universal suicide prevention in young people: An evaluation of the safeTALK program in Australian high schools. Crisis, 38(5). https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000465