Kevin Briggs
- Former California Highway Patrol Officer
- 2013 recipient of the ASIS International Outstanding Officer Award, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Public Service Award, Heroes Award, given by the Northern California Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International
Kevin Briggs Speaker Biography
As an international Crisis Management, Suicide Prevention and Leadership Skills presenter, Sergeant Kevin Briggs’ story and lived experiences have been featured at the Technology, Entertainment, and Design 2014 Conference as a TED Talk, Ciudad de Las Ideas (Mexico), NBC’s Access Live, Yahoo News, The New Yorker Magazine, Men’s Health Magazine, NPR’s Bob Edwards Radio Show, People Magazine, USA Today, as well as other magazines, newspapers, radio, and podcasts across the world. His first book, Guardian of the Golden Gate: Protecting the Line Between Hope and Despair, was released in July 2015.
Kevin Briggs, a retired California Highway Patrol sergeant, spent many years patrolling the Golden Gate Bridge. While on patrol, he encountered numerous individuals clinging to life by a thread – individuals who had lost hope and could see no way out of their current situation – ready to jump off the bridge to what they assumed was a sudden death and ending of their pain and hopelessness.
Briggs, through his compassion, gentle voice, eye contact, and his innate ability of “listening to understand” encouraged more than 200 individuals over his career to not end their life, but to begin a new chapter. These challenging but rewarding efforts earned him the nickname “Guardian of the Golden Gate.” After spending 3 years in the United States Army, 3 years with the California Department of Corrections, and 23 years with the California Highway Patrol, Briggs retired to dedicate his life to promote mental health awareness across the globe through Pivotal Points, an organization he founded.
Today, Kevin Briggs is mapping a movement as he speaks and trains others in suicide prevention, crisis management, and negotiations. He shares his “Listening to Understand” skills followed up with key active listening points and discusses in-depth his own personal mental health struggles. Briggs spends the majority of his time speaking/teaching at conferences, advocacy events, colleges and universities, first responder conferences, law enforcement (including FBI & Secret Service), and military bases. He also works with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), corporations, and other venues.
Book this SpeakerFeatured Videos
Speech Topics
Interventions with Individuals in Crisis
• Understanding the importance of empathy and understanding in crisis communication.
• How “Listening to understand” is critical in the communication process.
• Specific interactions (case studies) with individuals contemplating suicide.
• Enhancing communications skills.
The High Price of Mental Illness in the Workplace
• Compassion fatigue/vicarious trauma/moral injury.
• Employee mental health and its role in a company’s success.
• Creating a mentally healthy workplace.
• Quality of Life: A guide to making every day count.
• Living and thriving with a mental illness.
Crisis Communication
• Signs presented by an individual in crisis/contemplating suicide.
• Familiarization of effective communication tools.
• Interacting with adolescents in crisis/regarding suicide of peer.
• RELEASE Model for working with individuals in distress or a crisis.
• Developing a following a Crisis Safety Plan.
• Understanding Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and coping strategies.
• Understanding the process of an individual grieving from suicidal loss.
Workshops
Quality of Life
• Quality of Life Triad: A guide to maintaining a healthy mental and physical lifestyle.
• Understanding stress hormones and the impact they have on you.
• The importance of support systems and professional care.
• Understanding how stress affects our health.
Active Listening Skills
• Components of Active Listening Skills (ALS) – Techniques utilized to de-escalate situations that may have otherwise turned violent.
• Gain confidence in your ability to communicate effectively.
• Role play utilizing components of ALS.
Suicide Prevention and Postvention
• Understanding factors that play a role in the development of mental illness
• Specific case studies from encounters on the Golden Gate Bridge
• Mental Illness: Facts, myths, and how YOUR life may be affected
• Understanding how to approach and communicate with someone who may be in crisis.
• Determine a course of action utilizing empathy, understanding, and active listing skills
• Provide insight to suicide loss survivors on coping, their emotions, and acceptance of loss
Law Enforcement/First Responders
Mental Illness Contacts, Moral Injury/Vicarious Trauma and Post Incident Mental Health
• Crisis negotiations. Specific interactions with suicidal individuals.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Injury.
• Administration’s role in officer/staff well-being. Pre and post-critical incident.
• Understanding Compassion Fatigue, Moral Injury & Vicarious Trauma. The impact they can have on your life.
• Self-Care/Quality of life
• Courageous Conversations: Communicating with an officer/staff member in crisis.
Mental Health Professionals
• How “Listening to understand” is vital to successful interactions.
• Specific interactions with an individual contemplating suicide.
• Enhancing communications skills: What to say and what not to say.
• Self-Care and your own quality of life.
• Case studies of suicidal individuals on the Golden Gate Bridge.
• Understanding Compassion Fatigue, Moral Injury & Vicarious Trauma.
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