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Preventing suicide via QPR

Observer - 12/10/2020

Dec. 8--ISLAND CITY -- Sometimes asking a question is the best way to save a life.

This is critically true if one is using the "Question, Persuade, Refer" method for reaching out to someone feared to be so depressed they may commit suicide. La Grande High School counselor Teresa Dowdy emphasized this while giving a QPR training session, Friday, Dec. 4, to teachers and staff at Island City Elementary School.

Dowdy said understanding this method for emergency mental intervention is akin to knowing CPR to revive someone whose heart has stopped. Using the QPR method -- question, persuade and refer -- she said, allows one to address a mental health crisis before professionals can help the person.

She said many people in the community know CPR and she hopes that soon will be true for QPR.

"It is important to have people community-wide who can recognize the signs (of someone considering taking their own life) and know how to respond to help them," said Dowdy, a certified QPR trainer.

To apply the QPR method one first asks someone they are concerned about if they are considering hurting themselves; then, if they say yes, the individual tries to persuade the at-risk person to seek help and next, if they are successful, they refer the person to a counselor or another mental health professional.

Dowdy said when asking the initial question, one can use a direct or less direct approach but always should do so in a sensitive manner. Someone using a less direct approach, she suggested, could ask, "Have you been so unhappy lately that you've been thinking about ending your life?" or "Do you ever wish you could go to sleep and never wake up?"

Someone choosing a more direct approach could say: "You look upset and down. Are you thinking about suicide?"

Dowdy said people should use a direct or indirect questioning approach based on what they feel most comfortable with.

And queries in a ridiculing or intimidating manner are unlikely to draw an honest response.

"Never say something like, 'You would would never do anything stupid, would you?' or 'Suicide is a dumb idea -- you are not thinking of suicide?'" Dowdy said.

Still, the school counselor said people should not be too afraid of asking a question improperly.

"How you ask the question is less important than that you asked it," Dowdy said.

She added that research has shown once the question is asked, people often express a sense of relief and open up about their feelings. Dowdy said if someone is trying to persuade another to seek help and is unsuccessful, that is when they should call a crisis worker or 911 if they are concerned.

When someone agrees to go to a mental health professional, it is important to get them to make a brief commitment.

"If they say 'yes,' ask them, 'Will you promise me that you will not to hurt yourself in between now and the time you talk to a mental health professional?'" Dowdy said.

She said getting someone to make such a commitment could make a difference because they will feel an obligation to keep their word.

In terms of making a referral, Dowdy said it is important to always have contact information for mental health professionals available one can share when needed.

Friday's QPR training was one of about half a dozen Dowdy will be conducting in the La Grande School District and online for the public over the next month. Dowdy's next online training for the public will be Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. To sign up, go to the Center for Human Development Inc.'s website at www.chdinc.org or visit its Facebook page.

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