The Zero Suicide Academy® Online is EDC’s signature online training for health and behavioral health organizations seeking to dramatically reduce suicides among those in their care.
Zero Suicide Academy Online allows learning from a variety of disparate locations to focus on transforming suicide care.
About the Academy
The Zero Suicide Academy® Online is EDC’s signature online training for health and behavioral health organizations seeking to dramatically reduce suicides among those in their care. Led by our expert ZSI staff and faculty, the Zero Suicide Academy Online provides up to 16 teams from 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. Teams will also have an opportunity to network with similar organizations and establish relationships with each other and our team for ongoing assistance.
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.
A Zero Suicide Academy Online often draws teams from across a state or region and is typically hosted by a ‘sponsor’ organization (e.g., state behavioral health authority, tribal government, federal agency, regional healthcare center of excellence). Larger integrated delivery networks that include many service lines across a state or region may also host a Zero Suicide Academy Online for those internal locations and service lines.
Some academies focus on particular kinds of organizations – e.g., community mental health centers, hospitals, FQHCs – while other academies are open to a wide range of organizations in a particular geographical area – e.g., hospitals, outpatient health and behavioral health settings, school mental health, crisis centers, and justice settings in one region of a state.
Zero Suicide Academy Online FAQs
- Is sponsoring a Zero Suicide Academy right for me?
-
- If you’re a state, federal grantee, federal agency, or regional prevention coalition interested in supporting health and behavioral health organizations in your area to begin their Zero Suicide work, then a Zero Suicide Academy is the perfect fit!
- If your organization is ready to get started on implementation but you don't have a sponsor, a workshop or consultation might be a better fit. You may also want to review our upcoming National Zero Suicide Academy or the Zero Suicide Academies listed below to see if there is one already scheduled in your area.
- What is the benefit of having our Zero Suicide Academy online instead of in-person?
-
Hosting an Academy Online may meet your needs if:
- Your state or region is experiencing high COVID-19 rates and there are limitations to meeting in person.
- Your state or region experiences weather at certain times of the year that makes travel to a central location difficult or impossible.
- You want to open eligibility to a wide geographical area – e.g., regionally, nationwide, or internationally.
- What’s the duration of a Zero Suicide Academy Online?
-
- One of the benefits of an Academy Online is the flexibility. Most Academies Online are two days long with all sessions taking place on consecutive days. But it’s also possible to have sessions take place every other day or on Monday and Friday of one week if you know your audience needs more flexibility.
- 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 Zero Suicide Academy Online?
-
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.
- Where do I go if I’m ready to host a Zero Suicide Academy Online or if I have questions not answered by this page?
-
Please use the Contact Us button below and someone from our team will get back to you shortly.