Training

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is a two-day suicide intervention workshop presented by certified trainers, usually twice annually. The ASIST workshop is designed to increase caregivers’ knowledge, comfort level, and confidence in responding to a person at risk of suicide. Developed by LivingWorks Education, it is the most widely used, acclaimed, and researched training of its kind in the world. Click HERE to learn more.

LivingWorks “Start” is a 90-minute, online training program that will teach you how to recognize when someone is having thoughts of suicide and to take meaningful action to keep them safe.

​Accessible via any computer, smartphone, or tablet, LW Start includes customization, simulations, and interactive content. You’ll learn about suicide and its prevention, receive personalized information, and gain a series of skills to keep someone safe and alive.

The Mental Health First Aid Canada program aims to improve mental health literacy and provide the skills and knowledge to help people better manage potential or developing mental health problems in themselves, a family member, a friend, or a colleague.

​The program does not teach people how to be therapists. It does teach people how to:

• Recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health problems.
• Provide initial help. Guide a person towards appropriate professional help.

Mental Health Works is a national social enterprise of the Canadian Mental Health Association. We provide capacity-building workshops and presentations that are person-centred, evidence-based, and solution focused. We’ll help you build mental health awareness, teach you how to respond to challenging situations, and collaborate with you to create a healthier, safer workplace. There are one-hour, half-day, and full-day workshops available to suit a myriad of needs. Click HERE to go to our national program website. Courses are scheduled on an as-needed basis. Cost varies.

Peer Support Leader Training – Learn how to lead a safe and honest conversation and build support in your community. Peer support groups are led by people who share the same issue or experience. The leaders are regular people whose only qualification is personal or “lived” experience.

​Peer support groups are not therapy groups. The primary focus is emotional support, practical support, and information exchange. Each group is different and what happens at meetings is determined by the leader in consultation with participants.

This training is FREE thanks to the generous support of UPSE.

​To be notified about the next course, please call (902) 566-3034 or email [email protected].

safeTALK is a half-day alertness training that prepares anyone over the age of 15, regardless of prior experience or training, to become a suicide alert helper. 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 can recognize these invitations and take action by connecting them with life-saving intervention resources, such as caregivers trained in ASIST.

Since its development in 2006, safeTALK has been used in over 20 countries around the world, and more than 200 selectable video vignettes have been produced to tailor the program’s audio-visual component for diverse audiences. safeTALK-trained helpers are an important part of suicide-safer communities, working alongside intervention resources to identify and avert suicide risks.

​Training contact: Director of Community Education and Peer Support Julia Ramsay / [email protected] / 902-853-4180

‘suicide to Hope: A Recovery and Growth Workshop’ is a one-day workshop designed for clinicians and other professional caregivers who work with persons recently at risk and currently safe from suicide. This work is done on a longer-term basis and beyond the suicide first-aid emergency situation. s2H provides tools to help caregivers and persons with experiences of suicide to work together to develop achievable and significant recovery and growth goals.  s2H assumes that participants already have some familiarity with suicide prevention and intervention techniques.

LivingWorks’ two-day ASIST workshop is recommended as one way to learn the suicide intervention skills that are necessary for using suicide to Hope’s tools. The skills learned in the suicide to Hope workshop are designed to build upon this existing intervention knowledge and experience and are applicable to caregivers in a wide variety of professional disciplines. For more about s2H please read suicide-to-hope-information-sheet.

Specialized Peer Support Worker Training

Peer Support is the process of disclosing personal experience with mental illness/ addictions and a personal recovery journey to inspire hope and recovery for others. CMHA PEI recognizes the need for formal training and support for peer workers to effectively do this meaningful work.

The Specialized Peer Support Worker Training is a 119-hour program that includes 2 weeks of in-person training, a practicum, and a written and oral exam. The training will equip individuals to use their personal experience to support others by providing specific education, tools, skills, and exposure.

For more information on upcoming training, qualification, and registration visit our Specialized Peer Support page