REACH©

Who Can be REACH© Trained?

REACH Trainings are a 90-minute training experience, free of charge to members of the OSU community. OSUSPP offers REACH Trainings on campus to university and student affiliated organizations, departments, colleges, and programs. REACH Trainings are currently offered on the Marion, Lima, Wooster, and Newark campuses. Each of these campuses has an established Regional REACH Coordinator (RRC) who works directly with OSUSPP to schedule group and open training requests. 

Can Undergraduates Attend a Training with Staff, Faculty, Graduate or Professional Students?

No. We recommend that undergraduate students are trained separately from staff, faculty, graduate students, and professional students to promote a similar learning environment.

How Much Notice is Needed to Schedule a Group Training?

A minimum of 3 weeks advance notice is required for scheduling a training on the Columbus campus. Deadlines for requests on the regional campuses are created for each campus by their RRC.

Does OSUSPP Offer REACH Training Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities?

OSUSPP is committed to ensuring that the REACH Training experience is accessible to everyone. It is the responsibility of training requestors to ensure that any necessary accommodations are made available to their group members. For more information, please visit: Disability Services - Office of Student Life

How Do Participants Receive Their Certificate of Completion? Do Certificates Expire?

Training certificates will be emailed to training participants approximately 1-2 weeks after the training date via the REACH e-mail address: reach@osu.edu. While certification does not expire, we do recommend that gatekeepers practice or refresh their skills by attending additional training opportunities offered by OSUSPP.

Training Limitations:

Can I Attend a REACH Training Online? Can Trainings Be Videotaped or Live Streamed?

REACH Trainings are designed to be given in-person and are not currently offered online. Also, due to the complexity and sensitivity of the material and training experience, recording or streaming of any REACH Training is not permitted in any situation.

Can Group REACH Trainings be Personalized to Contain Group-Specific Information?

OSUSPP is unable to personalize the REACH Training for groups as the training is intended to contain general knowledge and be easily applicable to everyone on OSU’s campuses. However, we encourage groups to make the training personal by asking questions and engaging in dialogue with our trainers.

Is REACH Copy Written?

Yes. The REACH Training curriculum and materials are copy written and the intellectual property of Dr. Darcy Haag Granello, LPCC-S and The Ohio State University Suicide Prevention Program. Under no circumstances may any portion of a REACH Training be used for an off-campus training or for anyone who is not an OSU staff, faculty, student, or alumni. Only certified undergraduate, staff, faculty, graduate, and professional REACH trainers are permitted to facilitate REACH content.

Important Note:

While we believe in the effectiveness of anyone attending a REACH training, we also recognize that it contains complex and sensitive material. As a result, it is possible that participants could experience a variety of mental and emotional reactions. This should be taken into consideration before attending a training. As a general best practice for the well-being of our Buckeye community, OSUSPP does not recommend that students, staff, or faculty mandate REACH training attendance. REACH is not a clinical mental health training; it does not teach suicide assessment or intervention strategies, nor is it a comprehensive training on suicide risk. Rather, it is designed to empower anyone to learn these skills, and especially individuals who are not licensed mental health professionals.

In 2004, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, named after Senator Gordon Smith’s son who died by suicide, became the first national youth suicide prevention grant, authorizing $82 million over three years. The Act recognized youth suicide as a public health crisis linked to mental health issues. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Center for Mental Health Service (CMHS) were tasked with organizing the funds into programs, from which they formed the State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention Grant Program and the Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program. Ohio State University received funding through the latter in 2006 to support comprehensive suicide prevention efforts on campus. One of the goals of the program was the development of suicide prevention gatekeeper training. This training was to be based on emerging best-practices that increase knowledge of suicide risk factors, imminent warning signs, prevention strategies, and referral resources. 

In 2013, OSU shifted from the Question, Persuade, and Respond (QPR) gatekeeper training to its very own REACH Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training, which introduced a peer-to-peer education model. Since then, over 29,000 individuals have been trained as REACH Gatekeepers, and numerous partnerships have been formed across OSU’s campuses— including with the Graduate School and Military and Veterans Services— as well as with the local community and colleges and universities nationwide. 

More information about the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act.