QPR - Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training

The Kentucky Bar Association in conjunction with KYLAP and the Mental Health Collaboration Group members (see complete list of members below) are excited to announce a FREE CLE! 

Beck Whipple, the Suicide Prevention Coordinator within the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, will present an hour long program on, “QPR Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training.”

QPR is not a form of counseling or treatment. Rather it is intended to offer hope through positive action. By learning QPR, you will come to recognize the warning signs, clues, and suicidal communications of people in trouble, and gain skills to act vigorously to prevent a possible tragedy. Much like CPR or the Heimlich maneuver, the fundamentals of QPR are easily learned. As with CPR and the Heimlich maneuver, the use of QPR may save a life. 

The QPR method was developed specifically to detect and respond to anyone emitting suicide warning signs. However, independent researchers and federal agencies who funded the original assessments of QPR have suggested that the QPR intervention could be useful in far broader applications. Indeed, QPR is widely applied as a universal intervention for anyone experiencing emotional distress. It is not known how many individuals emitting distress signals recognized and responded to by individuals trained in QPR were false positives (not suicidal), but were still in need of professional help. 

When properly used, QPR works from a foundation of knowledge, compassion and understanding. The resulting intervention may help detect a wide range of personal problems that should respond to professional assessment and care. Early intervention may well prevent the development of suicidal thoughts and feelings downstream from a current crisis.

This program has been approved by the Kentucky Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Commission for 1.00 hour of CLE. Registration for this program will close on Wednesday, February 17th at midnight and is limited to the first 500 members to sign up. Attendees will be encouraged to keep their cameras on during the entire program. 

Members choosing to enroll in this webinar should know that QPR is a prevention-based training. It is not intended to be a form of counseling or treatment. It is not advisable that any attorney directly or closely affected by a recent death take this course at this time. QPR is intended to offer hope through positive action. We will have mental health professionals both on standby and moderating the chat just as a safety precaution. 

Making mental health programming and resources available to Kentucky attorneys is a priority to this collaboration group. We will continue to bring timely seminars to our members and find ways to provide information through a variety of resources.

Stay tuned for more things to come!

Mental Health Collaboration Group Members