Suicide Prevention Training hosted in Northern and Southern Belize

70 social workers, childcare providers, and youth workers in southern and northern Belize have been trained in basic suicide prevention strategies. The workshop was facilitated by Assistant Professor of Counsellor Education at The Citadel College in Charleston South Carolina, Dr. Guy Ilagan, and Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Professor at The Citadel’s Psychology – Clinical Counselling Program, Dr. Jill Ilagan.
The two-day workshops were held on Wednesday, August 8th, and Tuesday, 14th in Punta Gorda Town, Orange Walk Town, and Corozal Town. During the training, participants received information and tools on how to conduct assessments to determine if persons are at a low, medium or high risk of committing suicide, as well as how to respond and monitor youths-at-risk of suicide, including important intervention skills such as safety planning and crisis response planning for all levels of suicide risk.
This is the third round of suicide prevention training to take place as part of the collaboration between the Ministry of Human Development and Galen. So far, over 200 professionals and community workers across Belize have received training in basic and intermediate suicide prevention. The training workshop was sponsored by the Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation, and Poverty Alleviation in partnership with Galen University.