Upcoming class to advise how to spot people who are at risk for committing suicide

Rebecca Loven (Photo by decorahnews.com's Bob Modersohn)

Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health will be offering a program called "QPR" (Question, Persuade, and Refer), which has been shown to reduce the incidence of suicide in communities where the program is implemented.

The one-hour presentation will be held August 12th from noon until 1:00 p.m. at Decorah Covenant Church on Washington Street in downtown Decorah.  The class will train community members in QPR, allowing them to become familiar with signs of suicide intent and to intervene in an effective way.

Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health Clinical Director Rebecca Loven, a licensed medical health counselor, says it's important to have open discussion regarding the topic of suicide and suicide prevention.  The one-hour training being offered by her organization is one such solution. "The QPR website lists very detailed research, showing how effective it is to train normal community members in detecting warning signs, and in responding well," Loven said.

"As mental health service providers, we have a history of seeing students, both in our office and even in the school building.  We currently see students in a large number of school buildings in the region, and we are always willing to expand that service," Loven said.  "Additionally, we are happy to provide the suicide prevention training to faculty, staff, and students in the school systems in our region.  Our schools do a challenging job very well, and we are happy to partner with them in meeting the mental health needs of students in our community."

Those interested in registering for next month's QPR program should RSVP to Steph Garcia-Prats by email at stephgarciaprats@yahoo.com or phone at 505-980-2249.