Crisis Intervention Team Officer/Board of Directors Independent Aurora, Ontario, Canada
Body of Abstract: While empathy and rapport are recognized as foundational in suicide intervention, the moderating factors influencing their effectiveness remain under-researched. This multi-study, mixed-methods project (Zaiser, 2023) explores these factors through a series of randomized-controlled field experiments and interviews with police crisis negotiators, a group of professionals who not only regularly train and develop crisis communication skills but also frequently engage with individuals experiencing suicidal crises, especially in instances where they have not actively sought help (Grubb et al., 2019). A follow-up online study compared results with other suicide prevention professionals, including social workers and mental health practitioners.
The workshop will reveal surprising findings: a significant portion of participants exhibited cognitive biases that inadvertently impeded their ability to empathize and build rapport in realistic, scenario-based suicide intervention exercises. Follow-up interviews and surveys provided deeper insights into these biases, uncovering how they manifest as unintended cognitive heuristics, which not only crisis negotiators but also a wider sample of social workers and other mental heath professionals relied on.
These results add a critical layer to our understanding of language in suicide crisis interventions and its intersection with subconscious decision-making in designing communication strategies. The workshop will highlight practical implications for professionals across training, education, and field implementation. It promises an engaging, interactive exploration of these findings, shedding light on overlooked interpersonal dynamics that could significantly enhance future suicide intervention approaches.
Participants will be able to identify five distinct cognitive biases that undermine empathy-based rapport building. They will further be able to explain how these cognitive biases manifest as heuristics that intuitively appear to convey empathy but inadvertently undermine it. Participants will also be empowered to self-assess, reflect, and apply other strategies that allow them to become aware of these cognitive biases in the field/at work, pre-, during, and after intervention. They will leave the workshop with the tools they need to counter-act the corresponding heuristics for a more sensitive, authentic, and effective suicide intervention.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to identify five distinct cognitive biases that undermine empathy-based rapport building.
Participants will be able to explain how these cognitive biases manifest as heuristics that intuitively appear to convey empathy but inadvertently undermine it.
Participants will be able to self-assess, reflect, and apply other strategies that allow them to become aware of these cognitive biases in the field/at work, pre-, during, and after intervention.
Participants will be able to take measures to counter-act the heuristics that these cognitive biases enable for a more sensitive, authentic, and effective suicide intervention.
