Stop Suicide Northeast Indiana: Virtual C-SSRS Training
Learn how to use the Columbia – Suicide Severity Rating Scale Screener (C-SSRS)!
The C-SSRS/”The Columbia” is a few simple questions about suicidal thoughts and behavior that empower communities, families and individuals to find people who are at risk and prevent tragedies before they happen. It tells the user whether a next step is needed, and provides setting-specific recommendations for how to help someone stay safe from suicide.
Simple: You can ask as few as three to six questions, with no mental health training required to ask them.
Effective: Experience shows that the scale uniquely identifies those who would otherwise be missed.
Efficient: Use of the scale redirects resources to where they are needed most, preventing unnecessary interventions that are often costly, traumatic, and lead to disengagement from the needed care. The C-SSRS provides evidence-based thresholds to connect those at risk to the right level of care.
The Most Evidence-Supported: The scale originated in a NIMH treatment study, and generated an unprecedented amount of research that validates the questions.
Free: The screener is available at no cost.
The training is 1 1/2 hours. If you are part of a group being trained, please have each person register separately.
The training is $15 for those living and/or working in northeast Indiana (Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells, and Whitley counties) and $25 for those living and/or working outside northeast Indiana. CEU’s are available! CEUs may only be received in Indiana.
Stop Suicide’s Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Initiative:
Stop Suicide Northeast Indiana Coalition is working with its partners to establish a common language around suicide across northeastern Indiana. One way to have a common language is for all agencies, service providers, educators, churches, etc. to use the same standardized suicide screening tool. Having a common tool can:
- Remove individual interpretation and improve consistency.
- Provide proper identification and accurate level of risk leading to sound decisions about care.
- Ensure a smoother transition/continuity of care between organizations and/or systems because they’re using the same language.
Why the C-SSRS screener?
Using the C-SSRS helps determine an appropriate response, matching their risk level with the appropriate care.
- It asks about ideation, intent, and past behavior leading to better prediction of suicide risk which can save lives
- 6 questions (or less)
- Helps determine low, medium, and high risk and what steps to take at each level
- Easy to use
- Developed by National Institute of Mental Health
- It’s the most evidence-supported tool
- The screener is Free & available in multiple languages
- Anyone can use it
Ideally pastors, barbers, baristas, service providers, parents, educators – everyone would use this so they could help those at risk get appropriate care.
Questions? Contact ssnei@dacac.org