A suicide prevention training workshop for mental health professionals is scheduled later this month.

SPAN North, a branch of the state's Suicide Prevention Action Network, will sponsor an all-day workshop at the Kroc Center in Coeur d'Alene on Feb. 24 by Shawn Christopher Shea, M.D.

Shea, director of the Training Institute for Suicide Assessment and Clinical Interviewing, is the author of numerous articles and six books on suicide prevention.

"He's incredibly experienced. I have two of his books and they offer useful, practical guidelines and ways to elicit more information from someone who's experiencing suicidal thoughts," said Catherine Perusse, a mental health therapist in Sandpoint, SPAN North chairman and director of Bonner Partners in Care. Perusse sits on the board for SPAN Idaho, the statewide suicide prevention organization.

"His approach is clearly laid out and he gives so many excellent examples," she said. "It's immediately easy to see how it can apply to clinical work."

Data just released by the American Association of Suicidology ranks Idaho's suicide rate fourth highest in the nation for 2009. Idaho had 19.7 suicides for every 100,000 people that year. Only Montana, Alaska and Wyoming had higher suicide rates. The national average is 12 suicides per 100,000 people.

According to SPAN, 72 school children in Idaho died by suicide between 2006 and 2010. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Idahoans between the ages of 15 and 34. The state's highest suicide rate is in the five northern counties, where 53 suicides in 2010 equaled 25 deaths per 100,000 residents.

In an effort to reduce North Idaho's high suicide rate, the Coeur d'Alene School District recently trained 3,200 high school students and 1,200 staff in the Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) suicide prevention technique. The district will offer the training to parents this spring.

The method trains lay people to listen, recognize warning signs of suicide, persuade a potentially suicidal person to get help and refer the person to help.

The Shea training is the next step in the suicide prevention process. The training will focus on the mental health professionals to whom potentially suicidal people are referred.

The Feb. 24 workshop has room for 175 participants. It will cost $99 per person and includes Continuing Education Units. SPAN North covered most of the workshop costs with money raised from its annual Memorial Walk along the Centennial Trail in October and from private donations.

For information on or to register for the workshop, email spannorth@gmail.com.