Safe Alternatives for Teens and Youths-Acute (SAFETY - A) Training (formerly known as FISP)

Training Features

  • Target treatment population: youth and young adults (ages 10-24) who report suicidal ideation or behavior and their caregivers
  • One 8-hour training day
  • Up to 12 open group consultation calls over 6 months
  • In-person or virtual format
  • Offers training in a brief, trauma-informed, behavioral suicide risk assessment and safety planning for families
     

Full Description

The Safe Alternatives for Teens and Youth-Acute (SAFETY-A) is a trauma-informed, cognitive behavioral family intervention, for youth ages 10-24, who report suicidal ideation or a recent suicide attempt. SAFETY-A uses the encounter with the clinician to decrease the short-term risk of repeated suicidal ideation and behavior by building the coping skills of youth and their families, enhancing motivation for follow-up mental health treatment, and improving linkage to outpatient follow-up treatment services. The SAFETY-A Training is offered in partnership with the UCLA-Duke Act, Support, and Protect (ASAP) Center 

SAFETY-A has three main objectives:

  1. staff training; 
  2. youth and family crisis therapy session; and 
  3. care linkage telephone contacts. 

It emphasizes: reframing the suicide attempt as a problem requiring action; providing psychoeducation to families about the importance of outpatient mental health treatment and restriction of means of attempt in the home; increasing family support; and working with the youth to identify their triggers for suicidality and develop a safety plan (“hope box”) to enhance safe and adaptive coping.

SAFETY-A has been tested in ED settings and adapted for use in the homes of youth/families in other settings (e.g., inpatient, residential, outpatient, school, other community programs). SAFETY-A has also been adapted for delivery as a home-based intervention for youth with suicide incidents in the Celebrating Life Program, developed to address suicide attempts by youth within the White Mountain Apache community. 

General Eligibility Requirements:
Each consortia has a different set of eligibility criteria, please note where each one differs:

The Northern Virginia Regional Consortium for Evidence-Based Practice (NVRC):

  1. Participant must be affiliated with one of the 5 Region 2 Community Services Boards (City of Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun or Prince William Counties)
  2. Participant must meet the stated education, licensure, professional specialty, and/or experience requirements outlined for the specific training for which they are applying.

The Fairfax Consortium for Evidence-Based Practice (FC-EBP):

  1. Participant must currently be providing therapy services to youth/adolescents who reside within Fairfax County/City, Virginia or - for certain trainings - supervise clinicians who are serving this population.
  2. Participant must be licensed or license eligible (e.g., undergoing Board-approved supervision for licensure) to provide clinical therapy services. State registrations or professional certification, in absence of a State license or Board-approved supervision, are not sufficient to attend most FC-EBP training programs.
  3. Participant must possess a masters degree or higher in a mental health-related field by the date of their training program.  
  4. Participant must attend the full duration of any training program to which they are accepted.  Barring emergencies, we do to allow partial attendance.
  5. Participant must complete 2-4 brief surveys used to evaluate the training program(s) over the 12-months following the training program.
  6. Participants of in-person trainings are responsible for paying out-of-pocket to park on GMU's campus.

Unless otherwise stated in a training program's application announcement, all of the above criteria apply. There are programs with additional requirements and programs with exceptions to these criteria; additions and exceptions are listed within training announcements and should not be assumed applicable across programs.

Email CEBBH@gmu.edu for further information and eligibility requirements.