American University hosts suicide prevention workshop

The American University of Peace Studies Inc this year partnered with the Williams James College of Massachusetts to host its third annual Gatekeepers Suicide Prevention workshop.

The two-day workshop, which commenced on Tuesday, is expected to train over 50 persons who were taken from various communities throughout Georgetown to detect and give assistance to persons suffering with mental health in their community.
The workshop saw the participation of staff of the Ministry of the Presidency, law enforcement officers, community leaders, nurses, doctors and professionals with an interest in learning of the suicidality of people in Guyana.
Since the incident rate of suicide has dropped in Guyana, facilitator of the workshop Dr Natalie Cort, a Clinical Psychologist, Research and Assistant Professor said that her aim for the workshop is to ensure that the suicide rate continues to decrease.
According to Cort, one of the most effective ways to combat suicide identified by the Government is to ensure that community leaders are trained and as such the workshop will see to this.
“In low income and middle income countries where there might be a limited mental health infrastructure, one of the ways to creatively respond to that is to gather the community and to ensure that as many community leaders are trained in realising what the signs of suicide might be and how best to respond to it,” Cort explained.
The participants will be trained to identify signs in persons that can lead to suicidality and will be sensitised on how to effectively communicate with suicidal individuals.
“We are also going to be talking a lot about terms and definition, accurate terms that we should be using when we are talking about suicide, there are ways that we talk about suicide that are sometimes unintentionally pejorative, so for us to have accuracy in how we speak about it. We will focus on what to look for, what do we know from research are common signs that someone might be at risk, what are the protective factors that exists that we can employ to support individuals who are vulnerable be feeling helpless” the facilitator disclosed.
The participants will also be trained to utilise the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale— which is a questionnaire used for suicide assessment developed by multiple institutions, including Columbia University, with NIMH support.
The scale is evidence-supported and is part of a national and international public health initiative involving the assessment of suicidality. Available in 103 different languages, the scale has been successfully implemented across many settings, including schools, college campuses, military, fire departments, the justice system, primary care and for scientific research.
This year, the workshop is being funded by the Williams James College. Previously, the workshops were conducted in the county of Essequibo.
After being labelled as the suicide capital of the world, Guyana’s suicide plummeted, dropping from 44.2 per cent per 100,000 people in 2012 to 24.6 per cent per 100,000 persons in recent years.