Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) Training
9:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Fee: $15
Trainer(s): Melody Palmer-Arizola, LPC-S & Stacy Spencer, MSW, LCSW-S
Continuing Education Hours: 3.0
Interested participants must be practicing in Wisconsin
Course Description
Counseling on Access to Lethal means is a skills-focused training that looks at addressing the “how” of suicide prevention, rather than the “why”. Addressing access to lethal means and determining effective strategies to reduce access for those at risk of suicide has been proven to reduce suicides by thirty to fifty percent, which provides a critical opportunity for intervention. Suicidal crises, or the period of time in which someone is seriously considering attempting suicide, are often short, most frequently lasting less than 10 minutes. When someone at risk of having a suicidal crisis has access to lethal means, including medication or firearms, their chance of survival is greatly decreased, especially given that firearms make up over fifty percent of all suicide deaths. However, if we can create time and distance between the individual and lethal means of suicide, we can often deter attempting at all, and save a life in both the short and long term. This training utilizes the ambivalence that often comes with thoughts of suicide, as a point of both prevention and intervention. By reducing access to lethal means, we significantly improve the safety of those at risk of attempting suicide. Participants in this training will learn relevant information and be given data on access to lethal means and suicide rates. More importantly, they will also gain and practice essential skills via role playing on how to ask about access to lethal means, and engage with clients and their support system to reduce access until they are no longer at elevated risk. Case studies will also be reviewed and discussed.
This course is for anyone who comes into contact with people who are at risk for suicide. This includes mental health providers, but many people at risk for suicide do not go to a psychiatrist or counselor – or, if they do, they may be there for other reasons like to shore up a failing marriage, cope with a gambling problem, attend court-ordered anger management sessions, etc. A wide array of providers may come into contact with suicidal people: police officers, school personnel, youth detention workers, corrections personnel, defense and divorce attorneys, leaders of grief support groups, emergency department and other health professionals, and so on.
Learning Objectives:
• The participant will be able to identify at least three reasons why reducing access to lethal means is important for individuals at risk of suicide.
• The participant will be able to list at least three strategies for engaging individuals in a discussion about access to lethal means.
• The participant will be able to demonstrate creating at least three effective plans for reducing access to lethal means with suicidal individuals.
About Your Trainers
Melody Palmer-Arizola, M.Ed., LPC-S
Melody Palmer-Arizola, M.Ed., LPC-S, earned her Master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from Southwest Texas State University and has been working in the mental health field for more than 30 years. She started her career at Integral Care as a case manager with adults with serious mental illness before transferring to the Child and Family Services Division. Within the Child and Family Division, she has worked as a therapist, Program Manager and now as the Practice Administrator of Specialty Programs. She is the Chair of the Austin Travis County Suicide Prevention Coalition, is a member of the Mayor’s Challenge Team to prevent suicide among service members, veterans, and their families as well as a member of the Travis County Child Fatality Review team. She is a Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) trainer and has trained hundreds of individuals in various settings. Melody also maintains a private practice where she focuses on children involved with CPS, trauma and adoption.
