About LivingWorks

A Brief History

The formation of LivingWorks the Business –

Grew out of volunteer work with the Canadian Mental Health Association (Calgary South Region) in the mid-1970’s. A multidisciplinary team develops the basics of the original “foundation workshop” in suicide first aid. It is developed as a foundation learning experience, modeled on CPR Training for cardiac emergencies, upon which other programs can add to or extend the foundation. It is framed as a technology transfer activity that emerged from literature reviews and clinical experience pointing to a lack of adequate suicide intervention gatekeeper training among both community helpers and clinical professionals.

The workshop evolved out of an Alberta-wide suicide prevention plan in the early 1980’s. A “Training for Trainers” (T4T) model is trialed as the most efficient large-scale dissemination technology to support low-cost program delivery by local trainers. By 1983 a core partnership engaged in development and delivery emerges out of the T4T trials. Three are from the original multidisciplinary team [Ramsay (Social Work), Tanney (Medicine), professional faculty academics at the University of Calgary (U of C), and Tierney, U of C Education Psychology doctorate and student counselor at Mount Royal College]. The fourth is Lang, U of C Education Psychology doctorate and student counselor at the Banff School of Fine Arts.

In 1984, Correctional Services Canada (CSC) uses the foundation workshop program nation-wide for its front-line correctional officers. Ramsay, Tanney, Tierney and Lang (RTTL) organize as a partnership. Today, LivingWorks programs are nationally delivered from BC to Newfoundland and the Northern Territories (including Yukon, North West Territories, Nunavut & Nunavuk). Government, non-government and corporate organizations engaged in health care, mental health, justice, public safety and community services are involved.

In 1985, RTTL and CMHA reach a mutually determined copyright and program delivery agreement. RTTL is granted copyright to the newly named suicide intervention workshop (SIW) for mixed group training of community and professional caregivers/gatekeepers. The rights to disseminate the program within Alberta are given in perpetuity to CMHA (Alberta Division). RTTL has world rights to develop and disseminate the program outside of Alberta. RTTL adopts Rothman’s technology transfer method (social R&D) to convert core knowledge from suicidology into a standardized and contextually flexible suicide intervention program. Through the design, develop and dissemination phases Rothman’s method, the suicide first aid training program is implemented widely as possible with high quality control standards. SIW training spreads beyond Alberta to various North American organizations in Canada, USA and then internationally.

In 1987, the California Department of Mental Health (DMH) imported the SIW program awarding RTTL, DMH's first single-bid, out-of-state, out-of-country contract to serve all 58 counties in California. The original three-year contract is annually extended and funded until 1996, seven years beyond original expiry date. California trainers continue to deliver training in the state.

In 1989, the U.S. Army V CORPS invites LivingWorks to deliver ASIST (formerly Suicide Intervention Workshop or SIW) to United States Army Europe (USAREUR) as part of the Army’s ‘Fit to Win” health program. In 1991, USAREUR expands the training to include bereavement and grief training in anticipation of casualties from combat operations during DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM.

At the invitation of the Army’s Chief of Chaplains Office in 2000, LivingWorks joins the Menninger Leadership Center (formerly of Topeka, Kansas) to provide suicide intervention training to Army Chaplains and Chaplain Assistants. In 2001 LivingWorks becomes the primary provider of suicide intervention training for the Army. In 2002, LivingWorks receives a contract from the Army Materiel Command and partners with the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University to develop a virtual computer simulation post-training reinforcement skills program for ASIST.

Army G-1 formally confirms ASIST as the suicide intervention-training program for the Army in 2009. In 2010, the Chief of Staff of the Army approves the awarding of an Additional Skills Identifier (ASI) in the personnel file of all Registered ASIST Trainers. Through the years, US Army Trainers have conducted hundreds of workshops, training thousands in suicide intervention. These workshops span the globe and include workshops in active combat zones to include Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

USAF Chaplains launch a major training initiative in 2000 to deliver ASIST. A similar initiative with safeTALK, LivingWorks’ new suicide alert training program, is launched in 2008 and renewed in 2009. Also, US Navy units have used ASIST since 1987; the Coast Guard and various Reserve and National Guard units deliver ASIST regularly across the country.

Beginning in 1989, other learning experiences and training programs are developed and integrated with the basic foundation platform of ASIST. All are designed to further the development of suicide safer communities: Youth Suicide Awareness Program (1989), suicideCARE (1991), Working Together (1998), SuicideTALK (2000) and safeTALK (2005).

In 1991, the RTTL partnership is structured as a start-up company of U of C's new venture company, University Technologies International, Inc. (UTI), under the name LivingWorks Education Inc. The core product is relabeled Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). LivingWorks is UTI's first investment in soft-product development. An 11-year royalty agreement expires in 2002 and UTI’s return on a non-repayable $50,000 loan to structure the company is close to 600%.

In the same year, LivingWorks principals Ramsay and Tanney and CMHA’s Suicide Information and Education Centre (SIEC) are invited by the United Nations (UN) to organize, fundraise and host the world's first inter-regional experts meeting to develop a national strategy guideline for the UN to distribute to national governments and interested NGOs around the world. The UN guideline is drafted at Banff in 1993 and officially published by the UN in 1996. In 1994, a draft of the UN guideline motivates a suicide survivor to mobilize a nation-wide grass roots suicide prevention advocacy movement in the United States. Mobilizing a collaborative partnership between survivors, professionals, academics and corporations, the UN guideline underpins the formulation of the U.S.'s first comprehensive national suicide prevention strategy. This strategy, released in 2001, is the foundation for subsequent legislative policies and on-going funding initiatives, administrated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the Department of Human and Health Services (DHHS).

Washington State launches the second statewide suicide prevention program in 1995. ASIST is selected as the intervention-training program for their gatekeeper-training component. LivingWorks training has since expanded to state or region-wide application in more US states including: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Wyoming. The National Suicide Prevention Line (NSPL) network with over 140 centers around the USA selects ASIST in 2006 as their standard of practice training for crisis line workers.

In the same time frame, LivingWorks training programs are disseminated to other military services in Canada, Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom. A special agreement is signed in 1995 with Lifeline Australia and Commonwealth funding for a three-year field trial. The program is adopted nation-wide under the name LivingWorks Australia and administered under the auspices of Lifeline. Over 20,000 participants have graduated from the program since 1996. The ASIST program is introduced in Norway through a medical school initiative at the University of Northern Norway in 1998. All materials and video programs are translated and filmed in a Norwegian context. Spreading to nation-wide dissemination, “Vivat” (Norwegian version) is embedded in Norway's national suicide prevention strategy and receives permanent funding status under the Department of Health in 2007. Norway worked through their International development aid program to seed the program in northern Russia. Two trainers from Russia visit Canada for T4T instruction. “Vivat” also has seeded training initiatives in Lithuania, Denmark and Sweden.

Scotland’s national suicide prevention strategy, Choose Life, imports ASIST in 2003. LivingWorks programs, ASIST, safeTALK and SuicideTALK are integral to suicide prevention training throughout the country. LivingWorks programs become core components of national suicide prevention strategies in Wales (Project Safety), Republic of Ireland (Reach Out), and are broadly disseminated through Health Trusts in Northern Ireland and are regionally delivered in England. ASIST has significantly seeded in Singapore, New Zealand and Guam. Demonstrations and pockets of training have been introduced in Hong Kong, Korea, China, Fiji and India. ASIST is available in English and translated into French, Spanish, Norwegian and Inuktitut.

Numerous accolades follow the development of the LivingWorks programs. They include:

• A total of eight awards received in 1987-88, including a Gold Medal at the New York Film Festival, LivingWorks’ training program video, “It Begins With You”, produced by Communications Media at U of C, and holds the record of the most awarded film in U of C history.
• In 1988, LivingWorks receives the first of three export development awards: Alberta Economic Development Department; U of C and Calgary Economic Development Authority (1997).
• In 2002, LivingWorks receives the national Canadian Social Policy Knowledge Transfer award.
• In 2007, ASIST is receives Scotland’s National Training Award
• In 2009, ASIST is named one of Canada’s Cultural of Peace Gifts to UNESCO in the International Decade of Peace.

Roger Tierney, one of the founding partners, dies of cancer. Tarie Kinzel joins the LivingWorks team in 1997, after 15 years of delivering LivingWorks training in Saskatchewan, and becomes a partner in the company in 2000. With the programs becoming known internationally for their quality and results, Carole Thannhauser is hired as Director of Operations & CEO in November 1999. LivingWorks restructures in 2004 and forms a second company LivingWorks USA Inc., Jerry Swanner, former Army Suicide Prevention Program Manager, is hired as Director of LivingWorks USA.

LivingWorks has increased its gross revenues more than 14 fold between 1995 and 2009. The LivingWorks suite of programs is now the most widely used and the most recognized suicide prevention-intervention training programs in the world. LivingWorks has over 4,000 community-based trainers around the world who train over 60,000 participants annually. Since 1985, close to one million caregivers have benefited from participating in the first aid ASIST program.