Prevention / Early Intervention Programs

The prevention and early intervention programs noted below have been selected from a broad array of available programs and modalities. For a complete list of evidence based programs see SAMHSA's National Registry. The list below is focused on outpatient and computer-based programs that are applicable to a college-aged population. Many, if not most, of these programs have been or could be implemented by universitities.

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Alcohol eCheckUpToGo; Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST); Behavioral Intervention Teams (BIT); Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS); Challenging College Alcohol Abuse (CCAA); Depression Prevention (Managing Your Mood): Kognito At-Risk for College Students; Marijuana eCheckUpToGo; Mental Health First Aid (MHFA); Penn Resilience Training for College Students; Safe Talk; Say It Straight (SIS); Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR)

Name and Brief Description	On SAMHSA National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices?	Focus of Prevention / Early Intervention Program	Web Links	Cost to Implement Additional Information
Alcohol eCheckUpToGo: An interactive web survey that allows college and university students to enter information about their drinking patterns and receive feedback about their use of alcohol. The assessment takes about 6-7 minutes to complete, is self-guided, and requires no face-to-face contact time with a counselor or administrator.	No Recognized by NASPA. Evidence-based.	Alcohol Use	Website	Annual subscription fee of $975 Developed by psychologists at San Diego State University
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST): A two day workshop that is designed to help caregivers to feel more comfortable, confident, and competent in helping to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. The ASIST program is broadly used county-wide (e.g., through the Department of Health and Human Services and non-profit organizations such as Didi Hersch) and is increasingly being incorporated at universities.	No	Suicide Prevention	Website	To become an ASIST Trainer, one must participate in a five-day course. Course fee is $2,750.
Behavioral Intervention Teams (BIT): a multi-disciplinary group whose purpose is meeting regularly and/or as needed in order to support its target audience (e.g., students, employees, faculty, staff) through an established protocol. The team receives reports of disruptive, problematic or concerning behavior or misconduct and responds according to protocol (e.g., conducting an investigation and/or threat assessment and then determining the best plan for support, intervention, warning/notification, and response. The team also tracks “red flags” over time and attempts to detect trends and patterns in individual or group behavior and to problem-solve proactively. On college campuses, there are other models that are similar to BIT, including Students of Concern (SOC) and CARE teams or committees. See the link “2nd Generation Behavioral Intervention Best Practices” for a summary addressing the various campus teams.	No	School safety— prevention of threat and/or crises.	National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (NaBITA) The NCHERM 2009 Whitepaper on 2nd Generation Behavioral Intervention Best Practices	Trainings for BIT development vary in cost.
Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS): A prevention program for college students who drink alcohol heavily and have experienced or are at risk for alcohol-related problems. The approach is based on a harm reduction (rather than abstinence-based) approach to substance use. It is delivered over the course of two 1-hour interviews with a brief assessment survey taken by the student after the first session.	Yes	Substance Abuse	NREPP page	BASICS manual is $34; on an off-site trainings appear to be optional. top of page
Name and Brief Description	Listed on NREPP?	Focus of Program	Web Links	Implementation Cost; Addt'l Info
Challenging College Alcohol Abuse (CCAA): A social norms and environmental management program aimed at reducing high-risk drinking and related negative consequences among college students (18-24 years old).	Yes	Alcohol Use	NREPP page	$25,000+ for 1 year
College Drinker’s Check-Up (CDCU): A computer-based, brief motivational interviewing intervention designed to help reduce the use of alcohol by college students (ages 18-24) who are heavy, episodic drinkers.	Yes	Alcohol Use (targets heavy, episodic drinkers)	NREPP page	Program license is $2500 (college under 15,000 students); $4500 (college over 15,000 students)
Depression Prevention (Managing Your Mood): This is a computer-tailored intervention for adults who are experiencing at least mild symptoms of depression. The program is based on the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, which conceptualizes change as a process that occurs over time and in five stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.	Yes	Depression and Suicide Prevention	NREPP page	$20 to $35 per year per individual user for program license; training for trainers and coaches is optional.
Kognito At-Risk for College Students: A 30-minute, online, interactive training simulation that prepares college students and student leaders, including resident assistants, to provide support to peers who are exhibiting signs of psychological distress such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. Other Kognito training programs include: Kognito At-Risk for High School Educators and Kognito Family of Heroes (for military families).	No	Helps peers recognize & respond to signs of Depression, Anxiety, Substance Abuse, Suicidal Ideation	NREPP page Kognito Website	starts at $2,000/year depending on size of your institution top of page
Name and Brief Description	Listed on NREPP?	Focus of Program	Web Links	Implementation Cost; Addt'l Info
Marijuana eCheckUpToGo: A marijuana specific brief assessment and feedback tool designed to reduce marijuana use among college students. The assessment takes about 10-15 minutes to complete, is self-guided, and requires no face-to-face contact time with a counselor or administrator.	No Recognized by NASPA. Evidence-based.	Marijuana Use	Website	Annual subscription fee of $975 Developed by psychologists at San Diego State University.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA): a public education program that helps the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. MHFA is offered in the form of an interactive 8-hour course that presents an overview of mental illness and substance use disorders in the U.S. and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments. Certified Mental Health First Aiders learn to use a 5-step action plan to help an individual in crisis.	No	Depression, Suicide Prevention, Substance Use, Psychosis, Anxiety / Panic Attacks	Website	Cost to become an instructor: $2,000+
Penn Resilience Training for College Students: A brief prevention program for freshman university students at risk for depression. The program teaches a range of techniques based on the work of Beck and colleagues on cognitive therapy for depression.	Yes	Those at risk for Depression	NREPP page	Contact Developer
Safe Talk: A training that prepares anyone over the age of 15 to identify persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them to suicide first aid resources.	No	Suicide Prevention	Website	To become a trainer in safeTALK, one must attend an ASIST workshop and complete the safeTALK Training for Trainers which costs $750. top of page
Name and Brief Description	Listed on NREPP?	Focus of Program	Web Links	Implementation Cost; Addt'l Info
Say It Straight (SIS): a communication training program designed to help students and adults develop empowering communication skills and behaviors and increase self-awareness, self-efficacy, and personal and social responsibility. The program aims to reduce risky or destructive behaviors such as substance use, eating disorders, bullying, violence, precocious sexual behavior, and behaviors that can result in HIV infection. While the program began as a school-based program for youth, its application has been expanded to other populations, including college students.	Yes	Reduction of Risky or Destructive Behaviors (through empowerment & skill enhancement)	NREPP page Say It Straight Website	$1,000+ per trainer (plus cost of participant materials)
Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention: a brief educational program designed to teach “gatekeepers” (those who are well positioned to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide, such as parents, friends, teachers, coaches, etc.) the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to respond. People trained in QPR learn to follow three steps: 1) Question the individual’s desire or intent to suicide; 2) Persuade the person to seek and accept help; and 3) Refer the person to appropriate resources. QPR can be learned in the gatekeeper course in as little as one hour. At the end of 2009, an estimated one million American citizens had been trained in QPR. Trainings are offered in-person through Certified QPR Gatekeeper Instructors as well as through QPR Online Gatekeeper Trainings. Many college campuses offer QPR trainings to faculty, staff, and students.	Yes	Suicide Prevention	NREPP page QPR Institute Instructor Certification Online Gatekeeper Training	To become a trainer the cost is $495 for the self-study or online course; To complete the 1 hour online gatekeeper training the cost is $29.95/per person. Participant booklets are 1.75 to 2.50 each depending on size of order.

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