Ask, Listen, Refer is a 24/7 online-based suicide prevention training course that provides tips to students and faculty to foresee signs of individuals who may be struggling with suicidal thoughts. This program serves as a guide for college students and faculty on how to handle this situation.
According to their website asklistenrefer.org, this program is designed to help students and faculty prevent suicide by teaching the individual to:
- Identify people at risk for suicide
- Recognize the risk factors, protective factors and warning signs of suicide
- Respond to and get help for people at risk
The premise of Ask, Listen, Refer is for the individual to ask to start a conversation with the person experiencing a mental health crisis, to listen by responding to the risk and to refer them to the help they need.
When you create a new account, you will be met with short courses that become unlocked the further you go. Each course is broken down into eight sections which are, an overview of the course, what to look out for, protective factors, how to help, emergency and crisis situations, prevention, resources and the certificate after the course is completed.
This program was created by the University of Missouri. Since its creation, over 50 colleges and universities around the nation utilize this training program as a resource for students across college campuses.
Dr. Jaclyn Friedman-Lombardo, the Director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), provided some insight on how the resource is promoted by the university.
“This program has been an excellent addition to training available to faculty, staff and students, ” said Dr. Friedman-Lombardo. “It is online and takes about 20-30 minutes. While this is not as comprehensive as Mental Health First Aid training (which is a full day), this is an accessible option for the entire campus that can be taken in addition to MHFA.”
Brian Estrada, a freshman visual communication design major, recognizes the importance of the Ask, Listen, Refer program offered by the university.
“[Looking] for people who [have] these signs is definitely helpful because when you’re dealing with that, you may not want to speak out about it,” said Estrada. “It could definitely save a lot of people.”
Brian Estrada, a freshman visual communication design major. David Bien-Aime┃The Montclarion
Sara Mirarchi, a sophomore theater studies major, shares her reaction to the mental health resource program offered by Montclair State.
“That’s cool, I didn’t know about that, ” said Mirarchi. “I’m gonna have to check it out. I hope that everyone knows about it because [if] someone’s going through something, you [should] reach out.”
Sophomore theater studies major, Sara Mirarchi. David Bien-Aime┃The Montclarion
Montclair State continues to promote this training program on the university website, the Wellness News emails, and other mental health-related promotions.
