Citation

Cross WF, Chen T, Schmeelk-Cone K, Tu X, Kleinman M, Gould MS. Psychiatr. Serv. 2017; 68(10): 1083-1087.

Affiliation

Dr. Cross and Dr. Schmeelk-Cone are with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York. Dr. Chen is with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio. Dr. Tu is with the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla. Ms. Kleinman and Dr. Gould are with the Department of Child Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York. Dr. Gould is also with the Department of Child Psychiatry and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/appi.ps.201600417

PMID

28566029

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between trainer fidelity during a two-day suicide prevention program for counselors at crisis centers and counselors' behaviors during calls from individuals with suicidal thoughts was examined.

METHODS: The study used two data sets from a randomized control trial of a suicide prevention program delivered by counselors at 17 crisis centers who had previously received training (train-the-trainer [TTT] approach). One data set examined counselors' behaviors by silently monitoring calls (N=764) to the crisis lines, and one assessed adherence to manual content and competence in delivery among trainers (N=34) by coding training videotapes. Multilevel modeling was used to account for nested data.

RESULTS: Use of recommended behaviors by counselors was primarily related to trainers' competence in delivery of the program rather than adherence to the program content.

CONCLUSIONS: Trainer selection for competence may be particularly critical for group-based TTT programs involving experienced counselors and the use of experiential activities.

Language: en

Keywords

Crisis Lines, Fidelity; Staff training/inservice, Suicide