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Suicide Prevention and Intervention

QPR, which stands for Question, Persuade and Refer, is an emergency mental health intervention that teaches lay and professional gatekeepers to recognize and respond positively to someone exhibiting suicide warning signs and behaviors. 

According to the Surgeon General’s National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (2001), a gatekeeper is a person in a position to recognize a crisis and warning signs that someone may be contemplating suicide.  Gatekeepers include parents, friends, neighbors, teachers, ministers, doctors, nurses, office supervisors, squad leaders, foreman, police officers, firefighters, advisors, caseworkers, and many others who are strategically positioned to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide.

Created Paul Quinnett, Ph.D., founder of the QPR Institute, QPR uses a “chain of survival” approach in which gatekeepers learn to recognize early warning signs, Question their meaning to determine suicide intent or desire, Persuade the person to accept or seek help, and Refer the person to appropriate resources. Question, Persuade and Refer—3 simple steps that anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide!

QPR-trained Gatekeepers learn how to:

  • Recognize the warning signs of suicide
  • Offer hope
  • Get help and save a life

QPR Gatekeeper Training is a simple educational program for suicide prevention and intervention that teaches ordinary citizens how to recognize a mental health emergency and how to get a person at risk the help they need.