by Jim Marshall

Since I began conducting Survive & Thrive five years ago,(see "Stress Management" tab in the Our Courses category above) it has become clear that the majority of my dispatch students have not been adequately equipped to manage suicide calls. This caused me great concern as a mental health professional for a couple reasons...

During the past 22 years of clinical practice I have had the privilege of counseling suicidal people who are fighting to stay alive amidst their struggles with severe depression, post traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses. Unfortunately with this privilege also comes the inevitable: studies indicate that on average, a full-time psychotherapist will lose one client to suicide for every five years he is in practice. And suicide will happen sometimes even when you do everything "right". As you know, we simply cannot save everyone, try as we might.

Secondary Traumatization
Whether or not the suicidal client survives his crisis or dies on the counselor's watch, researchers (and my personal experience!) will tell us: we as helpers are traumatized psychologically by sharing these moments with the public we serve. As strong as we are and as tough as we might try to become, our brains still react biochemically to trauma as a "normal" person. But therapists and dispatchers are really in the same boat here: we are among a group I call "Extraordinary Care Givers" (ECGs). An ECG is any person whose job involves helping people in the midst of extraordinary human suffering on a regular basis. (Other ECGs include paramedics, firefighters, police officers and emergency room doctors.)

Big Skills Needed
Because we are ECGs we need extraordinary professional skills to achieve peak performance as we strive for excellence in suicide intervention. When it comes to managing the critical moments in which a person may be making the most important decision of his life, your ability to successfully...

• Connect...
• Assess, and...
• Intervene 

Can make all the difference!

So, my Number One Reason for developing 911 LifeBridges was to assure that you would be able to experience a clinically sound training that would equip you with these three Peak Performance Suicide Intervention Skills. As an ECG you simply must have them!

It is inaccurate to say that the call-taker is at fault if the caller decides to kill himself. Still the guilt and traumatic impact the dispatcher experiences is likely to be greater if she has been under-trained. Why?  Because the worst part of trying to help a suicidal person who completes the act is the feeling of helplessness you are left with.

So, Peak Performance Suicide Intervention Skills also matter for you personally. Knowing you are fully equipped can boost your confidence and give you the assurance after the call that you really have "done all you could do to help". And that can make the difference in your ability to truly let go emotionally to reenter your life again after the day is done. How much is that worth to you?

That's then Second Reason why we developed 911 LifeBridges: we go further than basic suicide intervention classes by applying extensive clinical knowledge to designing a course that will equip you to lessen the personal impact of this work on your own mental health and personal life. Building 911 LifeBridges can help you better manage secondary traumatization. And that means better protection against depression, anxiety, increased addictions, and loss of ability to function at work and enjoy life. That's good business for everyone!

I hope to have the chance to meet you at a future session of 911 LifeBridges. Until then, if you would like to comment on this article, want to host, or register for the course, email us at Info@911Training.net, or you can call Deborah at 231.622.1600

Send Snail Mail to:
MasterCare Institute, P.C.
Attention: 911 Training Institute
704 Petoskey Street
Petoskey, MI 49770

Thank you!