Clinical Workforce

Nurses, social workers, physicians, mental health professionals, school counselors, and other providers routinely care for persons who may be at risk for suicide. Yet many of these providers may lack training on how to support suicide prevention when working with patients or clients.

"In order to reduce suicide rates in the United States, a key objective is to ensure that a competent and resilient clinical workforce is trained and prepared for suicide risk assessment, intervention, monitoring, and follow-up." - Clinical Workforce Preparedness Task Force, National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention

Training Guidelines

To advance work in this area, the Action Alliance (Clinical Workforce Preparedness Task Force) developed a core set of training guidelines for the clinical workforce. Released in 2014, the guidelines are aimed at ensuring that health care providers are adequately prepared to treat persons at risk for suicide. The guidelines serve as the foundation for suicide prevention training programs in many areas, including nursing, social work, medicine, school counseling, and the full range of behavioral health and primary care disciplines.