Suicidal behavior and ideation are more prevalent in survivors of human trafficking than in the general population. However, in Southeast Asia, many survivors lack access to essential mental health services. In the Philippines, many anti-trafficking service providers have never received training on suicide, suicide prevention, or evidence-based mental health interventions. Service providers have identified an urgent need for suicide prevention training programs that equip non-mental health professionals with skills in working with clients who are suicidal.
Prior research has found that a lack of training and knowledge about how to respond to suicidal ideation and behavior can cause staff to feel emotionally burdened when working with clients who are suicidal. In response to this need, a study was launched in the Philippines to develop and train service providers in implementing a culturally-informed adaptation of an evidence-based suicide prevention intervention, the Suicide Safety Planning Intervention (SPI). In this study, a suicide prevention training program for anti-trafficking staff, the Suicide Learning Sessions (SLS) series, was evaluated to understand its impact on staff.
The SLS is a multi-modal, 14-week suicide prevention training program for anti-trafficking personnel in the Philippines. To make the curriculum accessible to working professionals, the SLS was divided into four months of weekly mini-sessions. Training modalities included asynchronous didactic learning videos, role plays, interactive group discussions, modeling of assessment and intervention tools, and case consultations. The training program curriculum covered managing emotions and expectations, defining suicide and common misconceptions, suicide risk assessment, implementing the Suicide Safety Plan Intervention (SPI), and monitoring and follow-up.
Before the SLS, practitioners reported significant emotional distress in working with suicidal clients. However, participation in the SLS helped lessen their psychological distress and strengthened their skills in working with suicidal clients. The evaluation showed that the suicide prevention training program had the following effects:
- Decreasing stigma and misconceptions: Service providers reported a reduction in suicide-related stigma, an increased desire to help, and greater empathy and understanding for survivors who are suicidal.
- Practical skill development: The SLS training strengthened staff clinical skills in addition to increasing their knowledge, helped them use suicide prevention protocols, and experience a deeper connection with their work.
- Grounding and structure: Staff reported that having a structured protocol gave them confidence in interacting with suicidal clients, helped them remain focused throughout sessions, and helped them feel more grounded.
- Benefits of multi-modal training: The various training modalities, such as instructional videos, roleplays, discussion groups, modeling, and case consultations, provided participants with a variety of ways to integrate content, providing opportunities for applied learning and ongoing skill improvement afterward.
- Reduced fear and dread: Service providers appeared more at ease when addressing suicide, reducing their anxiety when speaking to and working with suicidal clients, boosting their confidence in implementing the suicide protocol, and improving their ability to support survivors.
- Lessening emotional burdens: Staff reported experiencing a greater capacity for emotional self-regulation, lower anxiety, a stronger sense of social support, and reduced psychological distress, which improved their psychological and professional well-being.
The findings from this study revealed multiple cross-cutting benefits for frontline staff from their participation in the multi-modal, asynchronous training program, such as:
- Addressing the stigma associated with suicide and providing clarity on how to properly support clients;
- Emphasizing multi-modal learning, such as case scenarios, feedback, videos, and roleplaying, in promoting practitioner skill development to accommodate a variety of learning styles rather than focusing exclusively on information acquisition;
- Reinforcing the significance of practice-based training that includes opportunities for applied learning over time, allowing adequate opportunity for discussion and feedback with more experienced clinicians throughout the training process;
- Prioritizing accessibility for non-mental health professionals, such as community workers in contexts with few mental health practitioners; and,
- Demonstrating the significance of emotional support for staff, such as clinical supervision, debriefing opportunities in discussion groups, case consultations, and ongoing emotional support after completion of the training.
This study addresses a critical gap in the anti-trafficking sector by exploring the effectiveness of a culturally-adapted, practice-based training program in a low-resource, real-world setting. In 2023, Eleison is planning to launch follow-up research with survivors of human trafficking and gender-based violence to understand their feedback on suicide prevention services at Eleison and in the wider community.
To learn more about our study and findings, you may refer to our research brief. Prior research findings can also be found on our website.
