An Evidence-Based Educational Intervention to Improve Evaluation and Preventive Services for Officers at Risk for Suicidal Behaviors (In: Suicide and Law Enforcement, edited by D C Sheehan & J I Warren)

This chapter describes the development, implementation, & evaluation of an educational program for New York City police psychologists, counsellors, & other employee assistance personnel. The goal of the program was to prevent suicides by improving the counselling skills & psychological knowledge of those who evaluate officers at risk for suicidal behaviour. The program consisted of 5 meetings, each focusing on a key risk factor identified by current research: mood disorders & other psychiatric diagnoses; alcohol misuse; work stressors; family stressors; & personality style. Each meeting entailed a lecture, an interactive discussion period, & an experiential workshop. JA