Suicide Prevention Workshop
Suicide Prevention Workshop
to be presented by U.S. Grand Lodge, O.T.O.
facilitated by T אריה (Christeos Pir)
under direction of Sr. Marita, PhD.
Date: 18 OCT 2020 e.v., 4 PM Eastern Time
Purpose:
Why should we do this? Suicide is still a leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S., and many of us have lost friends, family, and/or O.T.O. sisters & brothers to it. Thanks to political, economic, and social pressures such as COVID-19, suicide rates have increased alarmingly in recent months. Many O.T.O. members have been called upon to counsel someone who is contemplating suicide; many more of us have been worried about a sister or brother but had no idea how to go about helping them.
Who is this for? Everyone can help prevent suicide. This workshop is recommended for all dues-current initiate members of O.T.O., but especially for officers, clergy, Chapter members, and senior initiates, as these are the people most likely to be sought out for help. For legal reasons this workshop is not open to the public.
What is the Intent? This will NOT provide formal certification (though information on more formal training is shared with attendees); rather, the intent is to provide skills in a kind of ‘emergency CPR-like’ intervention that can be learned, remembered, and performed by anyone willing to do so.
Workshop Outline:
Intro: What this class is intended to accomplish
This training is intended to give attendees the confidence to respond to a potential life-threatening situation: what to ask, what to say, what steps to take.
The 5 W’s
Basic information on suicide: statistics, risks, causes, preventability, and the “Suicidal Zone.”
ASK program encapsulation, with roleplaying
A: ASK about suicide
Asking can be direct or indirect. There are good ways to ask, and some inappropriate or ineffective ways.
S: Seek more information, keep them Safe
Best ways to establish a relationship of trust, issues of confidentiality (and where you cannot promise it), assessing immediate risk, working out a plan to keep them safe until they can get help.
K: Know where and how to refer them to help
Accessing up-to-date info where and how to get them the help they need.
Other considerations:
• Being receptive to their hidden or missed cues.
• Being aware of your own tone and other verbal and non-verbal cues.
• How do you know whether they’re just venting or are in actual danger?
• How do we deal with ‘caregiver fatigue’ and burnout?
• How do we as Thelemites reconcile programs like this with the Liber OZ right to die?
Resources Provided for Attendees:
• Easily-carried wallet cards with basics of the ASK process and some emergency contact information.
• A handbook with suicide prevention principles, info on the ASK process, and several pages of resources.
• Info on the ASK app and other phone apps will also be provided.
Registration is limited to 16.
Email Soror Promethea (sororpr…@gmail.com)
Include your civil name, email, preferred name, preferred pronouns, LB and/or Chapter affiliation, and role in the Order.
You may provide your mailing address at registration or afterwards for the provided resources to be mailed to you.
The workshop will be held via Google Meet and further details will be supplied upon registration.
Please register by 12 October.
