AFTER the success of the first safeTALK suicide prevention training in January, Trauma and Moral Injury Specialist/Expert, Sharmin Prince, will be hosting a second training on March 14 at the Cara Lodge on Quamina Street.

Prince, who is also a suicide survivor, said that trauma has become a norm in the Guyanese society, and her skills can be an asset to Guyana.

Realising this, she decided to keep a series of training workshops to use her skillset to develop the people of Guyana, and the country as a whole.

“Seeing domestic violence and the prevalence of it, and because we have such a high suicide rate, I think suicide prevention training is needed,” Prince said, adding: “We are desensitised because of oversaturation; people are just desensitised about others’ feelings. We don’t care anymore about others the way we used to; we are no longer our brother’s and sister’s keeper.”

What also contributes to that is our own trauma, she said. “We are seeing life through a trauma lens. And we always highlight men are killing women. But why? I can help with helping boys and men to understand the impact of their trauma,” Prince had told the Guyana Chronicle in a previous interview.

From these training sessions, she said her aim is to equip attendees with the necessary tools to deal with persons who have suicidal ideations. How to detect and identify those ideations, and how to get them to a safe space where they are in the hands and care of medical providers, or someone who can handle their suicidal ideations.

Though Prince is the facilitator, the certificates and materials being used are from the US-based organisation, LivingWorks, which owns the workshop called safeTALK. She is a certified safeTALK trainer, for which she is now using her knowledge and skillset to benefit persons here in her home country.

The specialist bought the safeTALK booklets to offer the training.
Outlining some of her skillsets, Prince said she is the holder of a Diploma in Social Work from the University of Guyana, a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and a Master’s Degree in Organisational Leadership. She is a dissertation away from a PhD in Psychology.

In addition to her academic achievements, Prince said she migrated to the US in 1999 and worked at Volunteers of America for 18 years, and functioned from the entry level all the way to executive.

During that time, she further qualified herself in several areas of specialty, including moral injury, Resilience Strength Training, and more.
Persons interested in the training can call 622-0689.