Suicide Prevention Training Sessions Offered for the Spring Semester
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 5, 2021) — Positive mental health is an integral part of employee well-being. Along with maintaining awareness of our own mental health, it’s important to stay alert to warning signs when others may need intervention. By learning the QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) technique, University of Kentucky employees can make a difference by gaining the tools to help identify suicide warning signs.
The QPR Institute was created with the goal to save lives and reduce suicidal behaviors by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training.
“This one class will offer an individual the necessary tools to help save a life,” said Ann Bassoni, mental health therapist from UK Human Resources Work+Life Connections. “There is a false idea that asking someone if they are suicidal or thinking of killing themselves will give the person the idea to do so. In fact, many people contemplating suicide will be relieved and really do want help. As the QPR program describes, there are three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide.”
Work+Life Connections recommends registering for other QPR sessions through two additional campus organizations.
The UK Counseling Center will offer QPR training sessions for students, faculty and staff on the following dates:
- Wednesday, Feb. 24, 4-5 p.m.
- Thursday, March 11, noon-1 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 24, 4-5 p.m.
- Thursday, April 8, noon-1 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 20. 4-5 p.m.
Sign-up information can be found on the Counseling Center website.
The College of Public Health will offer three QPR training sessions that will be presented by Adam Trosper (Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities) and Larry McNabb (Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation - Blind Services, formerly the Kentucky Office for the Blind). These sessions will be offered on the following dates:
- Thursday, Feb. 25, 1-3 p.m. Register here.
- Thursday, March 11, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Register here.
- Tuesday, March 30, 1-3 p.m. Register here.
To discover more mental health resources for UK employees, please visit the Work+Life Connections page. For more information on upcoming events by UK Work-Life, please visit the Work-Life calendar or reach out to worklife@uky.edu.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.