Dove's Inner B.E.A.U.T.Y. Podcast
Join us as we delve into the complexities of our emotional worlds with Demetria Nickens, a certified mental health first aid instructor and trauma recovery coach. In this episode, Demetria shares her insights from her platform, Dove's Inner Beauty, which challenges conventional beauty standards and advocates for genuine well-being. We discuss the life-changing impact of mental health first aid, trauma recovery, and suicide prevention.
Off-air, Demetria embraces life's simple joys, reflecting her deep commitment to maintaining balance. She opens up about balancing a rigorous career with cherished family moments, offering listeners a personal look at managing wellness amidst daily pressures. Tune in to discover not only Demetria's professional expertise but also her personal strategies for fostering inner beauty and work-life harmony. This episode is more than a dialogue—it's an invitation to promote mental health and uncover the beauty that lies within us all.
For more information about Dove’s Inner B.E.A.U.T.Y. visit:
https://www.dovesinnerbeauty.com/
Dove’s Inner B.E.A.U.T.Y.
(336) 298-6599
Dove's Inner B.E.A.U.T.Y. Podcast
Saving Lives Through QPR: Suicide Prevention with Demetria Nickens
What Is The QPR Gatekeeper Certification?
Ever wondered how you can make a real difference in someone's life simply by asking the right questions? Join us on the Dove's Inner B.E.A.U.T.Y. Podcast as we welcome Demetria Nickens, a highly experienced mental health first aid instructor and trauma recovery coach. Demetria shares the life-saving skills taught in the QPR Gateway Certificate, a one-hour suicide prevention training that equips you to recognize the signs, debunk myths, and engage in meaningful conversations that could save lives. This isn't just about learning new information; it's about becoming a vital part of a supportive community ready to act in times of crisis.
Alongside our co-host Garfield Bowen, Demetria dives into the practicalities of QPR training, including the invaluable role-play exercises designed to boost your confidence in handling sensitive situations. Much like CPR but for mental health, this training prepares you to be a gatekeeper for those around you—whether they are family members, friends, coworkers, or neighbors. Tune in to discover how you can be a more prepared and compassionate community member, ready to offer support and potentially save a life. This episode is packed with vital insights into fostering emotional awareness and empowering yourself to take action when it matters most.
For more information about Dove’s Inner B.E.A.U.T.Y. visit:
https://www.DovesInnerBeauty.com/
Dove’s Inner B.E.A.U.T.Y.
(336) 298-6599
Welcome to the Dove's Inner Beauty Podcast, where we foster emotional awareness, one individual at a time. Leading the way is Demetria Nickens, a certified mental health first aid instructor and trauma recovery coach with over two decades of experience in fostering emotional awareness in others by engaging their mental health.
Speaker 2:Curious about what the QPR Gateway Certificate is and why it's such a big deal. Join us for a lively chat with a mental health expert who will demystify this life-saving training. Welcome back everyone. This is Garfield Born, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with Demetria Nickens. Demetria, how are you doing today?
Speaker 3:Feeling good. Feeling good.
Speaker 2:All right, I want you to break this down for us. What is the QPR Gateway certificate?
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. Qpr is a suicide prevention training, and so QPR actually stands for question, persuade, refer, and basically it is an hour long certification that you can get to become what they call a gatekeeper and to really learn what it looks like to help someone when they've expressed any type of suicidal ideation, right? This idea of thoughts of suicide, this idea of having a plan of suicide, this idea of wanting to harm yourself by suicide, right. And so QPR teaches you what are the things that you're going to say right, to someone if they approach you about hey, or say something that would indicate that, hey, I'm thinking about suicide. You know what are the things that you can look for in people. What are those signs and symptoms? It's going to teach you what those looks like in people. What are those signs and symptoms. It's going to teach you what those looks like. What are some myths and facts about suicide. It's going to teach you those things and it'll really give you this information to know how to handle it.
Speaker 3:Right, To be able to just have a conversation with someone where it doesn't have to be awkward, right. If someone were to say something to you, you know exactly what to say back to them. And it's not. I'm going to shy away. Okay, I'm going to go that way. Right, I'm going to sit here and I'm going to have this important conversation with you to help you save your life versus avoiding it altogether. And so QPR is really about saving lives, right, being able to help the next person If they express something to you that you feel like is a bit overwhelming. But suicide has really touched a lot of lives. Right, it's touched people's lives, whether a neighbor, a family member, a friend, a coworker. It touches lives. And so how can we be better family members, coworkers, neighbors to people? By learning this one hour long certification to know how and what to say to someone that does express suicide or suicidal thoughts, ideations, anything to us about suicide.
Speaker 2:How would you compare this to CPR, I mean in terms of practicing? Do you I know CPR? To use a dummy, do we just like try this out on suspicious friends?
Speaker 3:So during the training, that is actually something that you do, right. So during that one hour training, there's a role play scenario at the end where two people can can really practice it right, really sit down and they have these practice scenarios. Someone comes up to you, you know, and says X, y or Z right About suicide. You know what do you say next and you know going through the Q, the P and the R and how to have that conversation as a part of the training, and so I would compare it in that way. It's definitely shorter than a CPR, right? This is a one hour training versus CPR is definitely going to be a lot longer and it doesn't teach you as much things as a CPR would, but it definitely gives you some life-saving techniques when it comes to mental health concerns specifically related to suicide.
Speaker 2:Does the QPR skills help you be more relaxed and calm? I know a lot of people probably panic and freaking out if someone thinking about taking their own lines. I mean, does it help you to?
Speaker 3:So I think that's an individual thing, right, and I think part of the training it tells you, it does give you this idea of say, hey, you know you need to take stock and how you feel having this conversation, right, if you've never had to ask someone, ask someone the question, are you thinking about killing yourself?
Speaker 3:If you've never said that out loud to anyone, ever saying it for the first time is going to be alarming, right. Just hearing me say it, probably through this podcast, is probably like whoa, right, what did she just say? And so a lot of people have that feeling. And so it is normalized in the training to be able to say, hey, you know, this feeling is natural. It's normal, a lot of people have it. But it also tells you the reasons why you need to work through that fear, right, the importance of being able to say, ok, I care about this person that is expressing suicide to me. I really need to try to work through this fear so that I can ask these questions, so that I can persuade them to not not do this, so I can refer them to the right resource to get the help that they need. And that's what the QPR certification is all about.
Speaker 2:I guess all of us need to be superheroes and get our QPR gateway certification. Demetria, good stuff once again. Love it. You have a fantastic day. We'll see you in the next episode.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you for tuning in to the Dove's Inner Beauty Podcast, where we foster emotional awareness, one individual at a time. For a complimentary consultation, visit DovesInnerBeautycom or reach out to us via email at InnerBeauty at DovesInnerBeautycom.