We can shed light on this issue by looking together at the topic of Suicide Intervention training.

As I developed the curriculum for Building 911 LifeBridges to Suicidal Callers, I talked with veteran first line dispatchers, seasoned trainers, and leaders in the national offices of NENA and NAED. It became clear that there was no view shared by all of us about what truly constitutes Best Practice approaches to suicide intervention in 911 dispatching. I reviewed the research to affirm the best current thinking on suicidology. We must answer the question: "what risk factors lead to actual suicide completions and what does this tell us about the most effective interventions?"

Then I asked: "How can we best translate this knowledge into the most successful suicide prevention approach for 911 dispatchers in their unique role?"  I discovered that in the past few years great collaborative efforts have been made by a national multidisciplinary group to develop best practice guidelines for crisis hotline phone workers. While the role of a 911 dispatcher in the life of a suicidal caller differs from the role of a hotline worker, there was much to gain from the work of this group's work. using their research I developed a draft suicide Protocol for Building 911 LifeBridges to Suicidal Callers.

The 911 LIfeBridges Protocol is only in draft form but it is very helpful in group discussion at the LifeBridges course. Dispatchers walk away with a far more defined sense of what to expect, how best to respond, and how much more work their local dispatch centers need to do in adopting their own protocols to reach best practice.

To achieve true excellence in 911 suicide intervention training it will take all of us engaged together in much more study and dialog, devoted to best practice: first line dispatchers, supervisors, managers, instructors, and 911 leaders in state government and at NENA, APCO, and NAED.

 If you would like a copy of the LifeBridges protocol or would like to join the Institute's discussion about suicide intervention training, call me at 231.622.1600 or email info@911Training.net