MIRECC / CoE

Recommendation Resources

Gatekeeper training teaches people to identify individuals who are showing warning signs of suicide risk and help them get the services they need. The integration of gatekeeper training, which highlights recognizing early warning signs, and understanding risk factors, and how to access timely, and effective interventions, enhances the standard of care across health care systems. The literature review conducted for the CPG did not yield evidence for or against gatekeeper training alone to reduce the risk of suicide.

• Training/Clinical Resources
• Manuals
• Videos
• Books
• Webinars
• Articles

Training and Clinical Resources

This section includes recommended training and clinical resources about gatekeeper training.

S.A.V.E. Training

VA S.A.V.E Training This free, brief online or in-person course will help you act with care and compassion if you come across a Veteran who is in crisis or is having thoughts of suicide. The acronym S.A.V.E. helps you remember the important steps involved in suicide prevention.

Psych Armor's S.A.V.E. Training

Suicide Prevention Resource Center's (SPRC)

Tools to Select, Implement, and Adapt Gatekeeper Trainings

Choosing a Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training Program—A Comparison Table of Trainings Available Online

Gatekeeper Training and Minimum Standards of Competency

Essentials for the Suicide Prevention Workforce

Manuals

This section includes recommended implementation manuals about gatekeeper training.

Suicide Prevention Resource Center's (SPRC)

Guidance for Culturally Adapting Gatekeeper Trainings Cultural Adaptations are changes made to programs so that they better fit the unique needs of the community and culture in which they are implemented while remaining true to the program’s core elements.

Videos

This section includes recommended videos about gatekeeper training.

Training: VA SAVE—Suicide Prevention for Veterans

Books

This section includes recommended books about gatekeeper training.

Burnette, C., Ramchand, R., & Ayer, L. (2015). Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention: A Theoretical Model and Review of the Empirical Literature. Rand health quarterly. 5(1), 16.

Webinars

This section includes recommended webinars about gatekeeper training.

Gatekeeper Training as a Force Multiplier for Community Suicide Prevention Presented by Cicely Burrows-McElwain, LCSW-C and Kendra "Kenner" Barnes, LCSW

Articles

This section includes recommended articles about gatekeeper training.

Gould, M. S., Cross, W., Pisani, A. R., Munfakh, J. L., & Kleinman, M. (2013). Impact of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Suicide & life-threatening behavior, 43(6). 676–691. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12049

Isaac, M., Elias, B., Katz, L. Y., Belik, S. L., Deane, F. P., Enns, M. W., Sareen, J., & Swampy Cree Suicide Prevention Team (2009). Gatekeeper training as a preventative intervention for suicide: a systematic review. Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 54(4), 260-268. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370905400407

Matthieu, M. M., Cross, W., Batres, A. R., Flora, C. M., & Knox, K. L. (2008). Evaluation of gatekeeper training for suicide prevention in veterans. Archives of suicide research : official journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research, 12(2, 148–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811110701857491

Rallis, B. A., Esposito-Smythers, C., Disabato, D. J., Mehlenbeck, R. S., Kaplan, S., Geer, L., Adams, R., & Meehan, B. (2018). A brief peer gatekeeper suicide prevention training: Results of an open pilot trial. Journal of clinical psychology, 74(7), 1106-1116. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22590

Samuolis, J., Harrison, A. J., & Flanagan, K. (2020). Evaluation of a Peer-Led Implementation of a Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training Program for College Students. Crisis, 41(5). 331–336. https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000638

Sueki, H., & Ito, J. (2015). Suicide prevention through online gatekeeping using search advertising techniques: a feasibility study. Crisis, 36(4). 267–273. https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000322

Yonemoto, N., Kawashima, Y., Endo, K., & Yamada, M. (2019). Implementation of gatekeeper training programs for suicide prevention in Japan: a systematic review. International journal of mental health systems, 13. 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-018-0258-3