Suicide Programs,® the organisation I am accredited by to deliver CALM CARE and CALM courses, are an Australian based organization developed to meet the unique challenges and cultural nuances this great country offer.

• Suicide Programs® can evidence all the research upon which the program is based, the earliest being 2016 – so they are current and relevant.
• Suicide Programs® draw on Motivational Interviewing, Trauma Informed Practice, Recovery Oriented Principles and Barbara Stanley’s Safety Plan – this theory base combination is not used across the globe, in any program I am aware of.
• Suicide Programs® intentionally designed a program that had flexibility built in to ensure it was adaptable to meet the particular audience to whom it was being delivered, as well as the particular style of the trainer, without deviating from the evidence-based model of intervention.
• Suicide Programs® have developed and own the IP for 3 Apps to facilitate help seeking and self-efficacy for people who may be suicidal, rather than placing the burden of help seeking on the individual.
• Suicide Programs® do not complete a risk assessment immediately after asking about suicide, which again is evidence based but I believe (not 100% sure) is not the case in any other program. They intentionally focus a significant period of time on the skills of communication and ‘how’ to have a conversation, rather than just providing a theory or model for intervention, to ensure a CALM Conversation can occur.
• Participants attending CALM often comment how much they love the model and how it’s so easy to remember. • There has been 1 internal evaluation, 2 external evaluations and were the first suicide intervention program in Australia to receive accreditation through the Suicide Intervention Australia QIP program (Quality, Innovation & Performance). Through all of these processes, their ethics, research and analysis was reviewed and passed with flying colours.
• Clients favour a one-day program like CALM as it significantly reduces their costs and minimizes staff absence.
• Suicide Programs® are currently the only suicide intervention program that is delivered either virtually or in-person.