REACH is a 90 minute in-person evidence-based gatekeeper training program that has been delivered to more than 38,000 adults across multiple settings, including universities (students, faculty, & staff) and medical professionals (physicians, residents, nurses, & healthcare staff) across a large healthcare system. Participants learn to recognize risk in colleagues, peers, and students and engage in empathetic, hope-filled conversations to help those who are at-risk access care. REACH uses small-group trainings (<30) to ensure a high-quality learning experience with opportunities for active learning and feedback, using a train-the-trainer model. Trainers support, shape, and refine skills learned during the required role play.
REACH is designed to help participants:
Recognize warning signs
Engage with empathy
Ask directly about suicide
Communicate hope
Help people who
are suicidal access the care that they need
REACH has six key goals By the end of REACH, Participants will:
(1) Recognize & understand suicide risk, including the role of stigma in perpetuating risk (2) Have confidence to engage in empathetic and hope-filled outreach and connections (3) Build self-efficacy and competence through guided practice (4) Be confident in their ability to ask directly about suicide (5) Know and be able to use national, local and institution-specific resources (6) Believe that they have an important role to play in suicide prevention
REACH was created in 2011 by Dr. Darcy Haag Granello, a licensed professional clinical counselor (OH), a professor of counselor education at The Ohio State University, and the founder of The Ohio State University Suicide Prevention Program. Originally developed to for university faculty, staff, and students, REACH is also implemented with others in the community, including law enforcement personnel, and healthcare workers in a large healthcare system, recognizing that those who help others often need assistance themselves.
REACH is the only recognized national SPRC Best Practice Program that is designed to help medical professionals and other helpers care for themselves, specifically training healthcare professionals to recognize risk among their colleagues and to know how to reach out to save lives.
Both quantitative and qualitative research demonstrate its effectiveness, More than 98% of those trained are confident, competent, and willing to intervene at post-training, and these results are maintained at two-year follow-up. In medical settings, knowledge and skills are retained at two-year follow-up, and more than 50% have used skills learned to reach out and assist colleagues in distress.
