Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)

LivingWorks ASIST is a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first-aid. ASIST teaches participants to recognise when someone may be at risk of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety. Although ASIST is widely used by healthcare providers, participants don’t need any formal training to attend the workshop—ASIST can be learned and used by anyone.

Suicide is preventable. Anyone can make a difference.

LivingWorks ASIST makes a difference

As the world’s leading suicide intervention workshop, LivingWorks ASIST program is supported by numerous evaluations including independent and peer-reviewed studies.

Results demonstrate that ASIST helps participants become more willing, ready, and able to intervene with someone at risk of suicide.

ASIST is also proven to reduce suicidality for those at risk. A 2013 study that monitored over 1,500 suicidal callers to crisis lines found that callers who spoke to ASIST-trained counsellors were 74% less likely to be suicidal after the call, compared to callers who spoke to counsellors trained in methods other than ASIST. Callers were also less overwhelmed, less depressed and more hopeful after speaking with ASIST-trained counsellors.

The two-day ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) workshop is open to anyone 16 or older. Widely used by both professionals and the general public, ASIST offers something to every participant, no matter how experienced.

Goals and objectives

In the course of the two-day workshop, ASIST participants learn to:

• Understand the ways personal and societal attitudes affect views on suicide and interventions
• Provide guidance and suicide first-aid to a person at risk in ways that meet their individual safety needs
• Identify the key elements of an effective suicide safety plan and the actions required to implement it
• Appreciate the value of improving and integrating suicide prevention resources in the community at large
• Recognise other important aspects of suicide prevention including life-promotion and self-care

A certificate of attendance will be issued however, participants must complete the entire 2 days' training in full. It is important that no content be missed. It is strongly recommended to clear other commitments for the training days in advance.

Why take ASIST?

LIFE-SAVING: Anyone can experience thoughts of suicide. By giving participants the skills to help friends, family members, colleagues, and clients stay alive, ASIST supports suicide-safer communities.

TRUSTED: ASIST is the most widely used suicide intervention training workshop in the world. Over 100,000 people attend ASIST each year in more than 30 countries.

ENGAGING: ASIST is a dynamic, hands-on workshop that uses adult learning principles. It includes presentations, discussions, and audio-visuals, plus simulations to practice intervention skills.

PROVEN: ASIST works. A major 2013 study showed that the ASIST intervention process significantly reduces thoughts of suicide and helps people at risk feel more hopeful about living.

COST-EFFECTIVE: A 2015 RAND Corporation study found that for every $1 spent on the ASIST program in California, the state government would save $50 in medical expenses and associated costs.