Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP)

STARS-p is a person-centred, psychosocial needs-based semi-structured interview. It was developed to provide a therapeutic framework for collaborative enquiry between worker and client to gain insight into the client experience of suicidality – using client narratives and their priority needs and concerns. The ultimate goal is to understand these concerns and collaboratively identify ways to enhance client safety and care for the short to medium term.

The purpose of STARS is to:

• To enhance worker understanding of the client's story by enticing worker reflection on the key factors that the client perceives to be contributing towards their suicidal state and experience.
• To assist and guide workers on ways to collaboratively elicit key client reported concerns perceived to contribute to suicidality as well as those factors that buffer against experiences of distress.
• To provide workers with a guiding framework for collaborative interviewing that is informed both by empirically based risk and protective factor information, as well as lived experiences of suicide. Further, to guide workers on processes for collaborative safety planning and documentation in line with minimum standards of duty of care, around keeping the client safe.
• To enhance worker knowledge, confidence and skills around administration of STARS-p according to specific settings, contexts, and experiences of the client.

The training consists of 6 modules:

• Module 1 – Lived experience and worker attitudes (and fears)
• Module 2 – Essential concepts in suicide risk assessment
• Module 3 – Structure and application of STARS-p (structured professional judgement, collaborative and authentic enquiry processes, and philosophy of STARS-p)
• Module 4 – Documentation and duty of care (the notion of safety as opposed to risk mitigation)
• Module 5 – Safety planning (collaborative philosophy and review / rehearsal)
• Module 6 – Self care (and impacts on the worker).
  

*Skills based role plays are required for demonstration of competency and these are the main focus of the 1-day skills-based webinar following completion of the online training component.

Administration of the STARS protocol requires licensed training and involves 12-15 hours of online learning and a 1-day online skills-based webinar workshop. A 2-day face to face/in person workshop can also be arranged for organisations upon request.

The program cost includes usage of the STARS protocol for 12 months as well as all workbooks, handouts, articles and hard and electronic copies of the STARS protocol (a one-day refresher course is required for re-licensing purposes after 12 months). Please email Jacinta Hawgood at [email protected] for more information.

Please note: Training programs listed are accessed at the user's discretion and are not endorsed by Zero Suicide Institute of Australasia nor Life in Mind.