This course is only available to Garrett Counseling clinicians.
Workshop Description: This 6-hour training provides mental health professionals with a comprehensive, structured, and experiential approach to assessing and managing suicidal ideation in outpatient settings. Participants will learn how to conduct developmentally appropriate suicide risk screenings, differentiate levels of risk, and make informed clinical decisions regarding safety and level of care.
The training integrates a clear clinical framework with experiential learning grounded in relational neuroscience and regulation-based interventions. Participants will explore how to move beyond checklist-based assessment into attuned, present-centered clinical interactions that support both accurate risk evaluation and client stabilization.
Core components include risk stratification, safety planning, use of structured tools such as safety rating scales, and implementation of coping strategies that target cognitive, emotional, and physiological distress. Participants will also learn how to respond effectively to crisis situations both within and outside of session, including coordination with caregivers, crisis resources, and emergency services.
Experiential components are woven throughout the training to help clinicians develop embodied understanding of distress, regulation, and relational presence. These exercises are designed to enhance clinical judgment, increase confidence, and improve the clinician’s ability to remain grounded when working with high-risk clients.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
- Conduct developmentally appropriate suicide risk screenings using direct and clinically effective questioning strategies.
- Differentiate levels of suicide risk (low, moderate, high) based on clinical indicators including ideation, intent, plan, access to means, and protective factors.
- Apply a structured clinical decision-making framework to determine appropriate levels of care, including outpatient management and referral to emergency services.
- Develop and implement collaborative safety plans that include coping strategies, environmental safety, and support systems.
- Utilize safety rating tools to support client and family awareness of escalating distress and guide intervention.
- Teach and apply crisis coping strategies that target cognitive, emotional, and physiological regulation.
- Respond effectively to suicidal disclosures and crisis situations across clinical and administrative contexts.
- Integrate experiential and regulation-based interventions to enhance clinical presence, attunement, and client stabilization.
- Identify and manage clinician emotional responses to suicide risk in order to support ethical and effective decision making.
Target Audience: Licensed professional counselors, associate licensed counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and other mental health professionals.
Instructional Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Note: You will need to make sure you have the supplies for each section of training. You can find the list of supplies in the handouts section.
Hour 1: Foundations of Suicide Risk and Clinical Presence (60 minutes)
Didactic (40 min):
- Philosophy of suicide risk management: slowing down vs reactive care
- Common clinician reactions (fear, urgency, liability concerns)
- Importance of structure in clinical decision making
Brave Play Experiential (20 min):
Exercise: “Notice Your Internal Response”
- Participants reflect on their internal reactions to suicide-related scenarios
- Guided somatic awareness (body sensations, thoughts, impulses)
- Processing: how clinician state impacts decision making
Hour 2: Suicide Risk Screening Across Development (60 minutes)
Didactic (35 min):
- Direct questioning strategies
- Adult vs child screening adaptations
- Language, pacing, and relational delivery
Brave Play Experiential (25 min):
Exercise: “From Script to Presence”
- Practice moving from checklist-based questioning to relational dialogue
- Role-play: one structured, one attuned
- Debrief: what changed in client response
Hour 3: Risk Stratification and Decision Making (60 minutes)
Didactic (40 min):
- Low vs moderate vs high risk
- Key variables: intent, plan, means, protective factors
- Determining level of care
Brave Play Experiential (20 min):
Exercise: “Decision Mapping”
- Small group case scenarios
- Participants physically map decision pathways (outpatient vs hospitalization)
- Emphasis on slowing down judgment
Hour 4: Safety Planning and Structured Tools (60 minutes)
Didactic (35 min):
- Components of effective safety plans
- Environmental safety
- Safety Rating Scale and its clinical use
Brave Play Experiential (25 min):
Exercise: “Build a Safety Plan That Works”
- Participants create a simplified, realistic safety plan
- Constraint: only 2–5 coping strategies (aligns with protocol principles )
- Discussion: what makes plans usable vs overwhelming
Hour 5: Crisis Intervention and Regulation Skills (60 minutes)
Didactic (30 min):
- Distraction vs self-soothing vs crisis survival skills
- Matching intervention to level of distress
Brave Play Experiential (30 min):
Exercise: “Regulation in the Body”
Participants rotate through brief stations:
- Cold water/temperature shift (simulated)
- Movement or tension-release
- Grounding and sensory orientation
- Reflection: which strategies are most accessible under stress
Hour 6: Real-World Application and Crisis Response (60 minutes)
Didactic (35 min):
- Responding to crisis calls and disclosures
- Referral pathways (ER, 911, crisis lines)
- Boundaries and role clarity
Brave Play Experiential (25 min):
Exercise: “In the Moment Response Practice”
- Live scenario practice (caller in distress, parent call, resistant client)
- Participants practice language and decision making in real time
- Facilitated feedback focused on clarity, tone, and regulation
Instructional Methods
- Lecture and guided discussion
- Case-based learning
- Experiential exercises (Brave Play model)
- Role-play and applied practice
Materials Provided
- Suicide risk screening tools (adult and child)
- Safety planning template
- Safety rating scale
- Coping and crisis regulation strategies
- Crisis response and referral guidelines
Evaluation Methods (NBCC Requirement)
- Post-test or knowledge check
CE Hours: 2 NBCC Hours
Course Author & Presenter: Maya Cook-Stroupe, LPC, Samantha Long, LPC, John Wise, LPC, Chloe Johnson, LCSW
Maya Cook-Stroupe is a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in treating anxiety and depression, providing evidence-based, client-centered care within a structured and supportive therapeutic environment. She utilizes an integrative approach incorporating techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Gestalt Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Solution-Focused Therapy to tailor treatment to each client’s unique needs and goals. She holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of West Alabama, is licensed in Alabama, and currently provides counseling services to children, adolescents, and adults at Garrett Counseling.
Samantha Long, MA, LPC, is a counselor specializing in providing neuro-affirming care for neurodivergent individuals and their families. She focuses on collaborative, supportive systems that honor individual needs and experiences within the counseling process.
John Wise is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 28 years of experience. He has a special interest in suicide prevention. John is a practitioner of EMDR therapy.
Chloe Johnson, LICSW, is a counselor at Garrett Counseling who works with children, adolescents, adults, and families. She earned her master’s degree in social work from Jacksonville State University and specializes in helping clients navigate anxiety, depression, and life transitions. With over three years of experience in the counseling field, Chloe is passionate about creating a supportive, collaborative environment where clients feel heard, understood, and empowered to grow. She believes that effective counseling is grounded in both genuine human connection and a commitment to lifelong learning, continually expanding her knowledge to provide the highest quality care for those she serves.
Brave Play has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6763. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Brave Play is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
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