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September 7, 2012

ULM develops online suicide prevention training for campus community

ULM HELPS (Helping Educators and Learners Prevent Suicide) is offering a course designed to allow ULM students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to become knowledgeable aides in life-threatening situations.

The one-hour Question Persuade Refer (QPR) training provides participants with the tools needed to help save a life in the case of a possible suicide attempt.

The training is offered online via ULM’s Moodle platform, a software package for producing Internet-based courses and web sites. 

The training can be viewed as the mental health equivalent of CPR, helping non-mental health professionals recognize the signs of suicide and cope with the situation until professional help arrives.

“The goal of QPR is to prevent suicide,” said Dr. Sandra Lemoine, dean of the College of Education and Human Development.

“This training provides an excellent opportunity to obtain skills that could help participants recognize someone who might be considering suicide.”

As explained by Paul Quinette Ph.D., clinical psychologist and president and CEO of the QPR Institute in Seattle, Wash.,

“QPR is designed to teach people, regardless of their background, how to make a positive difference on the life of someone you know. Like CPR, learning what to do at the time it needs to be done can save lives.”

The online QPR training is coordinated by Paula Thornhill, ULM Director of Continuing Education, Jana Sutton, Ph.D., director of the ULM Marriage and Family Therapy Program, and Peggy Buffington, M.Ed, M.A, the director of ULM HELPS.

The program is narrated by graduate assistant Ben Evans, M.A, a student in ULM's Marriage and Family Therapy Ph.D. program.

To register for training, ULM students, faculty, and staff can visit http://moodle.ulm.edu/course/search.php?search=QPR

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