Reading new material and preparing for the big day

There were MANY useful articles, scholarly articles, presentations and tip sheets for safeTALK as well as ASIST training (I took this workshop before but I am not an ASIST trainer). However, I found that the ASIST materials are very useful.

Met with my co-trainer today to prepare for the training. I had previously read over the material more than 3 times on the weekend. We couldn't meet up during the school day because we have completely different schedules and our prep times do not align.

We also picked a First Nations based script with clips that would be more relatable to our audience. We have more time to read over the material, look at articles that I found that might benefit our presentation.

We picked out what parts we wanted to present and thought about personal stories that we could share to make a more personal connection with our participants. We did a read through of the material and made cue cards to prompt us so that we don't miss any vital information.

We decided to rehearse tomorrow in my classroom and rehearse our parts, I will print out the new material that I found on the Living works website that I suggested my co-trainer read: The safeTALK quick tip sheet and the comprehensive ASIST document (you can easily pick which parts you would like to focus on etc.) I wanted to remind people the various reasons that people may be thinking of suicde such as (so that they can understand that people have various reasons and we don't have to understand why they are having thoughts to help them):

•Biological Factors, including family risk, brain chemistry, gender, physiological problems

• Predisposing Factors, including psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, personality profile, severe

illnesses

• Proximal Factors, including hopelessness, intoxication, impulsiveness, aggressiveness, severe/

chronic pain

• Immediate Triggers, including public humiliation, access to weapons, severe defeat, major loss,

worsening prognosis (Knesper, n.d.)

Reference: Page 8, ASIST PDF