Wyoming CALM Initiative

CALM stands for Counseling on Access to Lethal Means. There are a variety of CALM trainings intended for different audiences, but all of them focus on the same basic premise–reducing the risk of suicide death in at-risk people while respecting their rights and autonomy by counseling and empowering them to temporarily and voluntarily implement safe storage of lethal means, particularly firearms, during times of crisis. To learn more about the CALM Program, visit calmamerica.org.

CALM in Wyoming

The Wyoming Injury and Violence Prevention Program has contracted with CALM America to provide two in-person Train-the-Trainers (T4Ts) in Wyoming in 2025. These T4Ts certify successful participants to train two different courses, CALM Clinical Workshops and CALM Conversations. In addition to these trainers, other individuals in Wyoming have been trained in CALM through other funding sources.

CALM Clinical Workshop

CALM Clinical Workshop is a 3.5-hour course that trains mental health, medical, and human service professions to counsel individuals and their families to temporarily reduce access to firearms and dangerous medications during times of heightened suicide risk. It has four components:

1. Introduction to the evidence-based means safety prevention framework
2. How to incorporate means safety into existing risk assessment and crisis response protocols
3. How to effectively communicate around means safety
4. Role plays based on actual cases seen in clinical settings

CALM Conversations

CALM Conversations is a 60- to 90-minute course that trains those who may not be healthcare or mental health professionals on how to recognize and respond to suicide risk with an additional focus on reducing access to lethal means. While some people may not access behavioral or physical health care directly before a suicide attempt, it is common for them to signal to others, directly or indirectly, that they are struggling. This course provides friends, family, and community members with the skills to recognize these signals and counsel at-risk individuals on how to decrease risk by temporarily reducing access to lethal means. This course has four components:

1. Basic facts and misconceptions about suicide, common risk factors and warning signs, and the importance of means safety
2. How to ask about mood and suicide
3. How to connect at-risk individuals to formal and informal support
4. How to discuss lethal means safety and make environments safer for individuals until their mood state improves

CALM Trainers in Wyoming

The individuals below have been certified to provide CALM courses and have agreed to provide CALM courses in Wyoming. CALM Trainers reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for their courses.