Tennessee Tech hosts suicide intervention workshops for community members

Tennessee Tech University is hosting grant-funded Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) workshops to enhance suicide intervention capacity within the Upper Cumberland community. The training, described by faculty as a “gold standard” in intervention, is designed for a broad audience including educators, employers, and community leaders rather than exclusively for mental health professionals.

Led by psychology professors including Katherine Hermann-Turner, Derrick Edwards, Mark Loftis, and Tony Michael, the workshops aim to equip participants with the skills to recognize crisis red flags and confidently connect individuals to professional resources. The program operates under a “safe for now” philosophy to bridge the gap between an immediate crisis and long-term medical stability.

The initiative is a partnership between Tennessee Tech’s Center for Rural Innovation and Empower Upper Cumberland. By utilizing grant funding to provide the training at no cost to participants, the program seeks to remove financial barriers and strengthen community resilience, supporting the broader goal of economic mobility and community prosperity through improved mental health support.