REACH is a 90 minute in-person
gatekeeper training 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 is founded on the principles
that (a) suicide is preventable; (b) anyone can learn to help someone at risk
for suicide; and (c) reducing stigma is essential to lower suicide risk and
encourage help-seeking.
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 be implemented with university faculty, staff, and students, REACH has been implemented with others in the community, including law enforcement personnel, and healthcare workers in a large healthcare system who have been trained to recognize risk among their colleagues and to know how to reach out to save lives.
More than 33,000 people have been trained in REACH. Both quantitative and qualitative research demonstrate its effectiveness at both post-training as well as one and two-year follow-up.
