Kognito, an innovative online suicide prevention program, has ranked West Virginia University No. 1 for having the most students and employees complete the training in 2014.

WVU was named the leader in completion even though it recently implemented the program in August 2014.

“Suicide prevention training is very important in keeping our students and campus safe,” said Allison Cutlip, program coordinator with WELLWVU: The Students’ Center of Health. “We encourage all faculty, staff and students to take the Kognito training so everyone on campus will be better-equipped to help students who are at risk and foster a healthy campus environment.”

Funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Campus Suicide Prevention Grant, Kognito teaches students, staff and faculty how to better assist students experiencing psychological distress or experiencing thoughts of suicide.

The highly interactive, 45-minute research-proven course, also encourages students in distress to speak up and seek help, and increases the awareness of resources available on campus and in the Morgantown community.

“We are really pleased with the response from students and the WVU Student Life staff,” said T. Anne Hawkins, clinical director at the Carruth Center for Psychological and Psychiatric Services.

“We are currently hoping to work with faculty members in completing the modules specifically designed for them. Our goal is for them to apply the training to the students in their courses so we can reach a larger group of students.”

The training is used at approximately 600 college campuses nationwide.

LGBTQ and veteran training modules are available through Kognito, which will help gain an understanding of challenges and considerations unique to those student populations.

To access the free online training, visit https://kognitocampus.com/login and select “create an account.” Staff and faculty should use the enrollment key “wvu664”, and students should use “wvu833” to access student modules.

For more information, contact T. Anne Hawkins TAHawkins@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-4431.

-WVU-

ta/02/10/15

CONTACT: T. Anne Hawkins, WELLWVU
TAHawkins@mail.wvu.edu, 304.293.4431

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.