Learning to prevent a tragedy

The Rivne Medical Academy hosted a thematic online training on an extremely important topic — “Gatekeeping. Suicide Prevention”.

The speaker of the event was Oksana Liutko, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of Psychology, Social Work and Humanities, Director of the Rivne Institute of the University “Ukraine”, regional trainer of the program “Suicide Prevention in the Community”. She shared modern approaches to suicide prevention, which are already effectively used in the world — in particular in Norway, Japan, the USA, Canada and Australia.

It was about the “gatekeeping” method — an approach in which every person can become an important link in preventing a tragedy. A “gatekeeper” is not necessarily a psychologist, but someone who has basic knowledge about the risks of suicidal behavior, knows how to see alarming signals, support, listen and refer to specialists.

Participants discussed practical aspects, received advice on how to act in crisis situations and how to maintain their own psychological balance while helping others. Such meetings are another step towards creating a safe educational space where caring for mental health becomes a shared responsibility.