[Faculty] Opportunity for QPR Training to Recognize Depression and Suicide Risk in Students

[Staten, Michael E - (statenm)]

Dear CALS colleagues,


The end of the semester is notorious for being a stressful time for faculty, staff, and students. This year, those stressors and strains are even more amplified. In anticipation of the extraordinary emotional and mental health burden that faculty, staff and students are experiencing, Dean Shane Burgess convened a Mental Health working group this past summer. One of our tasks was to identify how we can help faculty and staff recognize depression and suicide risk among each other and our students, as suicide rates have increased in many age groups and in many locations around the United States during the pandemic.


We selected the training protocols from the QPR Institute because the QPR Institute is the gold standard in training non-mental health providers how to talk about suicide and depression.  QPR stands for Question, Persuade, Refer. The mission of the QPR institute is to reduce suicidal behaviors by providing innovative, practical, and proven suicide prevention training. We also selected two faculty within CALS to receive training to become Certified Gatekeeper Instructors. This training means that these faculty are able to demonstrate and provide feedback on how to have conversations about suicidal thoughts, behaviors, and risks as well as to assist others in applying QPR techniques. They also are available to answer any questions you have about the training.



As faculty and advisors, you are most likely to see warning signs of students’ mental health problems. Many of our students are struggling with depression and struggling to complete class assignments on time or engage in coursework in the ways they did in prior semesters. Untreated depression is the number one risk factor of suicide. With QPR training, you can learn how to recognize warning signs of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Additionally, you will learn conversational skills that can help you interact with students during this difficult time and onward.


We invite you to take the QPR online training (free to CALS faculty and advisors). This is a 1-hour, online training that will provide you with the tools to learn about depression and suicide prevention, understand what the warning signs of suicide are, and how to get help for someone in crisis. Completing this online training also provides you with a digital booklet that you can keep as a resource for review and continued guidance.


After completing the online training, you will be invited to participate in a 1-hour webinar where the QPR Certified Gatekeeper Instructors will demonstrate how to talk about suicide and you will have opportunities to practice talking with individuals about suicide and depression and apply what you learned from the online QPR training. Just as we need to have the knowledge and tools to prevent the COVID transmission, we also need the knowledge and tools to prevent suicide.


 How to register for QPR online training:

  1.  Navigate to: qprtraining.com/setup<http://www.qprtraining.com/setup.php>
  2.  Enter the organization code ARIZONAQPR
  3.  Select Create Account
  4.  Complete and submit student registration form (you are the student)
  5.  QPR will display and email the newly created Username and Password.
  6.  Log in to begin training at qprtraining.com<http://qprtraining.com/>

You will need to use your arizona.edu email to be able to register for this training.



​We hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity.   If you have any questions please refer them to Laura Scaramella in the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences who chairs the CALS Mental Health Working Group.

Best regards,

Laura Scaramella
Director, Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences


Michael Staten
Bart Cardon Associate Dean for Career and Academic Services



Michael Staten | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Bart Cardon Associate Dean for Career and Academic Services
Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics
The University of Arizona
Forbes Hall, Room 211
The University of Arizona
PO Box 210036
Tucson, AZ 85721-0036
PHONE: 520.621.1932
statenm at email.arizona.edu<mailto:statenm at email.arizona.edu>
www.mikestaten.com<http://www.mikestaten.com>



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