Counselling Services offers a broad range of suicide intervention and mental health training programs. Our goals are to raise campus mental health awareness, reduce mental health stigma, and support early intervention for those in need within our Waterloo campus community.
Check back often as new sections and offerings will be posted as they become available or subscribe to our eNewsletter.
Interested in having Counselling Services present a training to your faculty or group? Fill out our Training Request form. Please note that training requests are reviewed on Wednesdays, so there may be a delay in receiving a response depending on when you submit the request.
Which training is right for me?
Our suicide intervention and mental health training programs are open to and would benefit all university of Waterloo students, staff, and faculty.
- Core programs such as QPR (1.5 hrs) and More Feet on the Ground Online (1-1.5 hrs) are our most widely available training programs.
- Programs such as safeTALK (3 hrs) and More Feet on the Ground In Person (2.5 hrs) may be of particular interest to student leaders and peer mentors, staff and faculty leaders (e.g., advisors, Associate Deans), as well as other student services employees.
QPR
This training teaches students, staff, and faculty how to recognize and support someone who may be having thoughts of suicide. It is an education and awareness program that provides direction as to how to Question a person with thoughts of suicide, how to Persuade them to get help, and how to Refer the person to appropriate professional resources.
Training content:
- How to Question, Persuade and Refer someone who may be suicidal
- How to get help for yourself or learn more about preventing suicide
- Common causes and warning signs
- How to get help for someone in crisis
Duration: 1.5 hours
Fall term dates:
- Friday, September 28, 2018 (1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Registration is on LEADS. - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 (1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Registration is on LEADS. - Thursday, November 8, 2018 (1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Registration is on LEADS. - Monday, December 10, 2018 (9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.)
Registration is on LEADS.
Winter term dates:
- Wednesday, January 16, 2019 (1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Audience: Students. Registration is on LEADS. - Wednesday, February 20, 2019 (9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.)
Audience: Faculty and Staff. Registration is on LEADS. - Thursday, March 14, 2019 (3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
Audience: Students. Registration is on LEADS. - Monday, April 29, 2019 (10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.)
Audience. Faculty and Staff. Registration is on LEADS.
safeTALK training
This training teaches students, staff, and faculty to identify persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them to suicide first-aid resources. Most people with thoughts of suicide don’t truly want to die, but are struggling with the pain in their lives. Through their words and actions, they invite help to stay alive. safeTALK-trained helpers learn to recognize these invitations and take action.
Training content:
- Move beyond common tendencies to miss, dismiss, or avoid the topic of suicide
- Identify people with thoughts of suicide
- Learn simple yet effective TALK steps: Tell, Ask, Listen, and KeepSafe
- Apply the TALK steps to connect a person with suicide thoughts to life-saving first aid resources
Duration: 3 hours
Location: Counselling Services, Needles Hall North, 2nd Floor
Dates:
- Wednesday, January 9, 2019 (1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
Audience: Students. Registration is on LEADS. - Monday, April 15, 2019 (1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
Audience: Faculty and Staff. Registration is on LEADS.
For more information about the safeTALK program, visit Living Works.
More Feet on the Ground Online
This is a free online mental health education program that teaches students, staff, and faculty to Recognize, Respond, and Refer individuals experiencing mental health problems on campus. The program was developed by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) in partnership with Brock University and the Ontario Government’s Mental Health Innovation Fund and has been adapted and branded for all participating post-secondary institutions across Ontario.
Training content:
- Comprehensive information about common mental health and addiction concerns
- Overview of signs/symptoms, treatment options, mental health stigma
- Facts, statistics, and stories of lived experience
- Campus and community resource information
- Opportunity to receive a certificate following successful completion of a brief on-line assessment of learning
Training dates:
- Anytime, anywhere at More Feet on the Ground.
More Feet on the Ground In Person
This training consists of a facilitated discussion of the online More Feet on the Ground mental health education program. This program uses those online materials, as well as vignettes to teach students, staff, and faculty how to Recognize, Respond, and Refer individuals experiencing mental health problems on campus.
Duration: 2.5 hours
Location: Counselling Services, Needles Hall North, 2nd Floor
Fall 2018 term dates:
- Thursday, September 13, 2018 (9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)
Registration is on LEADS. - Friday, October 26, 2018 (9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)
Registration is on LEADS. - Wednesday, November 21, 2018 (9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m)
Registration is on LEADS. - Wednesday, December 5, 2018 (1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
Registration is on LEADS.
Winter 2019 term dates:
- Friday, January 4, 2019 (12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Audience: Staff and Faculty. Registration is on LEADS. - Monday, February 11, 2019 (2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
Audience: Staff and Faculty. Registration is on LEADS. - Friday, March 8, 2019 (9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)
Audience: Students. Registration is on LEADS. - Thursday, April 11, 2019 (9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)
Audience: Students. Registration is on LEADS.
