By Rory Durock | Staff Writer
Baylor’s Counseling Center is offering Gatekeeper Training in Questioning, Persuasion, and Referral for students in the Moody Memorial Library’s Active Learning Lab on October 10 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. This training equips students to become mental health allies by equipping them with the tools to identify red flags in their peers.
According to the QPR Institute website, “QPR’s mission is to reduce suicidal behavior and save lives by providing innovative, practical, and proven suicide prevention training. Signs of crisis are our It’s all around us. We believe that through quality education, everyone, regardless of their background, can make a positive difference in the lives of those they know.”
Isabella Vennale, a sophomore from Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, said the QPR training helps prepare students to identify symptoms of mental health issues.
“Through our training, we will teach you how to respond to situations where you may face a suicidal crisis, how to ask further questions about what is going on, how to get to the bottom of it, how to persuade people to seek help, and how to I’ll show you what it’s like. Like,” Venale said. “And we introduce them to different avenues to help them get the kind of help they need.”
Venale said QPR training has a “sequence” of how to deal with situations involving suicide prevention.
“QPR stands for Question, Persuade, Refer,” Venare said. “So you ask [the student] And look at what’s going on in their lives, if something is bothering them. And then you can dig a little deeper and ask if they’re suicidal, if they’re suffering. If so, reach out to people, talk to them, and convince them that it’s okay. Then introduce them to another path. …Then we follow up to make sure they get the help they need. ”
According to the QPR Institute, research shows that most healthcare providers do not receive specific or adequate training on how to help people at risk of suicide, and that they are unable to help those around them. It is left to the individual.
Reese Ryling, a sophomore at Mansfield University, said the QPR training is important and beneficial to Baylor students.
“For me, it opened my eyes and made me realize why conversations like this are important, why asking for help is important, and training people to know what direction to guide students. It gave us more information about why it was important,” Reiling said. “So I think that for students to be able to receive training in this field is beneficial for anyone who may be dealing with this issue in their life, especially on a campus that is in such a high-stress environment.” .”
QPR training allows students to become allies to mental health by teaching them to be empathetic listeners and support networks, Reiling said.
“I think [QPR training] It helps students become more empathetic and more understanding of what’s going on among other students,” Reiling said. “[Students] You may be able to understand the different things you see in your friends and family outside of the Baylor community. Also, if we collectively became more aware, it would have a positive impact on the student culture here. ”