Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) Clinical Workshop

3 FREE CEUs/RCHs

In-person Training at the Educational Service Center (ESC)

Presented by Michelle Sayer, LISW-S

This clinical workshop is designed for professionals in mental health, medical, and human services to learn effective strategies for counseling individuals and families on temporarily reducing access to firearms and dangerous medications during periods of heightened suicide risk.

Participants will be introduced to the means safety prevention framework, which is supported by extensive empirical evidence and enhances broader suicide prevention strategies. The workshop will explore how reducing immediate access to lethal means can disrupt the suicidal process, and participants will learn how to integrate means safety measures into existing risk assessment and crisis response protocols.

Additionally, participants will discover various options for increasing means safety and will be trained to apply these approaches flexibly and creatively, addressing not only firearms and medications but also other methods related to suicide plans. Effective communication is crucial, and participants will practice motivational interviewing techniques to facilitate collaborative discussions around means safety planning, emphasizing the importance of temporariness and the safety of at-risk individuals. The workshop will also cover culturally sensitive and technically accurate language for discussing firearms, ensuring participants feel equipped to engage in these critical conversations.