Suicidal Callers

Suicidal CallersLETN-405-0705NotesWritten by Robin Tieman, 9-1-1 Training CoordinatorI. SYNOPSISMany 9-1-1 telecommunicators in the United States do not have training orexperience handling suicidal callers. They may develop their techniqueswhile on the job through trial-and-error, but not have the benefit of formaltraining.II. OBJECTIVESUpon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:1. dispel common myths when handling suicide calls.2. cite the four types of crises subjects may face when making suicidecalls.3. apply basic suicide response assumptions during suicidal calls.4. assess resources with the caller during suicide calls.5. build a relationship with the caller during suicide calls.6. assess the degree of risk on suicide calls.III. INTRODUCTIONSuicidal callers present one of the most intimidating calls for atelecommunicator. The telecommunicator often feels he could saysomething wrong and cause someone to lose his life. For the most part,people who become telecommunicators do so because it makes them feelgood to give something back to their communities and help other people.Suicide calls are not calls that telecommunicators take on a daily basis;therefore, their skills are not as honed for these calls as they are for theother calls they receive, such as domestic violence calls. If atelecommunicator has received little or no training handling suicidal callers,taking one of these calls can be an unnerving experience. By watching thisprogram, telecommunicators with little or no previous training can benefitfrom others’ experiences handling suicide calls. This program also teachestelecommunicators about common myths associated with suicide, how toassess the risks of a possible suicide call, and the techniques that can aidthem when handling such calls.Law Enforcement Training Network 3