"The presenters were incredibly engaging, and the breakout room spaces were really helpful in giving my team time to work through how implementation in our specific and unique environment could look."
A few times a year, we open our Zero Suicide Academy to teams from health and behavioral healthcare organizations nationwide.
The National Zero Suicide Academy® is EDC’s signature training for health and behavioral health organizations seeking to dramatically reduce suicides among those in their care.
About the Academy
The National Zero Suicide Academy® is EDC’s signature training for health and behavioral health organizations seeking to dramatically reduce suicides among those in their care. Led by our expert Zero Suicide Institute staff and faculty, the National Zero Suicide Academy provides health and behavioral health organizations with an invaluable opportunity to kick-off their Zero Suicide implementation, learn about the Zero Suicide framework and seven elements, begin strategic implementation planning, and prepare for commonly faced challenges.
What are the 7 elements of Zero Suicide?
Using the Zero Suicide framework, participants learn how to incorporate best and promising practices into their organizations and processes to improve care and safety for individuals at risk of suicide. The event includes both interactive presentations and small group sessions. There is time for our staff and faculty to collaborate with teams to develop organization-specific action plans.
The National Zero Suicide Academy is online and hosted directly by the Zero Suicide Institute at EDC.
National Zero Suicide Academy Online FAQs
- What is the benefit of attending a National Zero Suicide Academy instead of a locally-hosted Academy?
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Attending a National Zero Suicide Academy may meet your needs if there are no locally-hosted Academies or if those are inconveniently scheduled.
If you’ve attended an Academy in the past and have new team members (or just need a refresher), attending a National Academy may be the choice for you.
- What’s the duration of a National Zero Suicide Academy?
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The National Zero Suicide Academy is a two-day online event, 7 hours each day.
We also include two additional sessions. We host a pre-Academy online session that introduces participants to Zero Suicide and starts their learning about two weeks prior to the academy. About a month after the Academy, participants will reconvene to discuss early implementation action steps, any initial challenges that they’re facing, and provide resources.
- How do you prioritize engagement during the National Zero Suicide Academy?
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When we brought Zero Suicide Academy to an online environment, we got our team together to discuss what techniques translated well online and what didn’t and paired our knowledge with a thorough review of best practices in online engagement. Over time, we have changed platforms, incorporated emerging technologies and applications, and studied feedback from participants. And we'll continue to do so.
Our current iteration uses a variety of engagement tools, including breakout rooms, live chat, video share, multimedia clips, digital whiteboards–along with brain breaks and self-care activities. The intentional design of the online Zero Suicide Academy encourages teams to learn from each other and access our experts as thought partners.
- How do I apply to a National Zero Suicide Academy?
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Download the Zero Suicide Academy: Guide for Applying for step-by-step instructions. This document provides guidance on completing the Zero Suicide Academy application, including tips on using the Zero Suicide Toolkit™ to build your narrative.
- Where do I go if I’m ready to attend a National Zero Suicide Academy or if I have questions not answered by this page?
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Please use the Contact Us button and someone from our team will get back to you shortly.