What QPR Institute does

QPR Institute is a private training organization founded in 1999 and headquartered in Spokane, Washington, that delivers evidence-based suicide prevention education built around the QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) methodology developed by founder Paul Quinnett in 1995. Its product portfolio spans tiered offerings from a $29.95 foundational 60-minute Online Gatekeeper Training for general consumers, through occupation-specific courses for primary care providers, school health professionals, and first responders (priced $49–$495), up to the 14+ hour QPRT Suicide Risk Detection, Assessment and Management Training for mental health professionals and the multi-edition QPR Pathfinder Training program for crisis first responders. The platform combines multi-media video lectures, interactive case studies, scenario-based role-play simulations, and downloadable role-play exercises delivered through a cloud-based learning management system with individual accounts, progress tracking, and certificate issuance; an integration with the Mazetec platform supports enterprise account data syncing and survey reporting.

The company monetizes through three primary channels: (1) direct e-commerce sales of individual and small-team courses through its website storefront with student, military, and government discounts; (2) instructor certification ($595 US / $795 international, with a 3-year recertification cycle) building a network of 10,000+ certified instructors who deliver in-person and blended training; and (3) enterprise volume licensing, including unlimited-use yearly contracts for colleges, universities, and healthcare systems at custom pricing. It also sells professional publications authored by the founder. Customers span healthcare systems (Trinity Health, Humana, CommonSpirit, Marshfield Clinic), universities (Stanford, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Princeton, Ohio State, Michigan State), federal and state government (DHS, TSA, National Park Service, State of Wisconsin), and major employers (NFL, American Express, Best Buy); 8M+ people have been trained cumulatively. QPR's intellectual property is reinforced by listings in SAMHSA's NREPP and Best Practice Registry and recognition by the Joint Commission as a patient safety best practice. Leadership consists of founder Paul Quinnett as Executive Chairman and Brian Quinnett as CEO (appointed November 2021).

Name

QPR Institute

Legal name

QPR Institute

Website

https://qprinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

QPR Institute is a Spokane-based private training organization that delivers evidence-based suicide prevention education through the QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) methodology, serving healthcare systems, universities, government agencies, and employers via online courses, instructor certification, and enterprise licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Spokane

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Individual Online Training Courses: Self-paced online gatekeeper training at $29.95 per individual. Additional specialized courses ranging from $30 to $495. Revenue from direct consumer sales through website storefront.
2. Instructor Certification Training: QPR Gatekeeper Trainer Certification Course at $595 (US) or $795 (international including print license). 3-year certification with included materials and ongoing support.
3. Professional Publications: Sale of suicide prevention books including 'Suicide: The Forever Decision' ($17.95) and 'Counseling Suicidal People: A Therapy of Hope' ($24.95). Also sells educational brochures and guide bundles.
4. Organization Volume Licensing: Bulk training certifications with volume discounts: 250-500 trainings at $14.95 each; 500+ at $9.95 each. Unlimited use yearly licensing available for colleges/universities with all students, staff, and faculty access.
5. International Instructor Licensing: International instructor certification with World Bank zone-adjusted pricing. Includes license to print QPR materials in local markets. Recertification fee $100 plus $200 for material printing license.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

QPR Institute develops and sells suicide prevention training programs built around its proprietary QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) methodology. Its portfolio spans a 60-minute basic online gatekeeper course for the general public, specialized courses for professionals (primary care, school health, eldercare, veteran care, sports coaches), an advanced 14+ hour QPRT clinical risk assessment certification, and a multi-edition Pathfinder first-responder certification. The company also certifies instructors and sells accompanying books and brochures.

Product overview

QPR Institute offers a comprehensive suite of suicide prevention training programs built around the QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) methodology. The portfolio spans tiered offerings from basic Gatekeeper Training (60-minute online course, $29.95) for general audiences to professional-level certifications including QPRT (14+ hour suicide risk assessment training, $249) and multi-edition Pathfinder Training programs ($495) for crisis first responders. The company provides specialized sector-specific courses for primary care providers, school health professionals, first responders, eldercare workers, pharmacists, and athletics professionals. Instructor certification programs are available for US ($595) and international audiences ($795). The training methodology combines multi-media video, text-based content, interactive case studies, and scenario-based role-play simulations. Over 8 million people have been trained worldwide. The organization also publishes related books including Suicide: The Forever Decision and Counseling Suicidal People: A Therapy of Hope.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QPR Gatekeeper Training: Three-step suicide prevention training (Question, Persuade, Refer) designed to be learned in one hour, taught to millions worldwide as an emergency mental health intervention.
• QPR Pathfinder Training
• QPRT

Products and services

• QPR Online Gatekeeper Training Foundational 60-minute self-paced online course teaching the Question, Persuade, Refer methodology for recognizing suicide warning signs and intervening. Targeted at the general public, parents, neighbors, and community members.
• QPR Gatekeeper Training for Youth Serving Professionals Online training adaptation focused on recognizing suicide warning signs in youth populations and referring young people to appropriate help. Designed for adults who work with youth such as coaches, mentors, and youth-serving staff.
• QPR Pro Gatekeeper Training Professional-level 3-4 hour training for helping-profession staff expanding the basic QPR program with suicide risk screening, intervention support, and evidence-based referral training.
• QPRT Suicide Risk Detection, Assessment and Management Training v2.0 Comprehensive 14+ hour certification for mental health professionals covering the QPRT Suicide Risk Management Inventory interview protocol, risk stratification, documentation, safety planning, means reduction, and postvention. Version 2.0 includes 10 major upgrades with scenario-based simulations.
• QPR Pathfinder Training (All Editions) Multi-edition 14-20+ hour certification program (Youth/Young Adult, Adult/Older Adult, Veterans, Lifespan) designed to create a new workforce of certified suicide care first responders using evidence-based interventions and scenario-based simulations.
• QPR for Primary Care Providers Specialized training for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses covering suicide risk detection, verbal screening tools, means reduction, safety planning, and continuity of care in medical settings.
• QPR for School Health Professionals Training for school nurses, counselors, psychologists, and health staff covering youth suicide demographics, non-suicidal self-injury, bullying, LGBTQ risk factors, screening skills, and evidence-based interventions.
• QPR Gatekeeper Instructor Certification Training (US) Train-the-trainer program producing certified QPR instructors, including 12 clock hours/1 CEU, instructor manual, 25 QPR booklets, wallet cards, and 3-year certification with ongoing support.
• QPR Gatekeeper Instructor Certification Training - International Version International version of instructor certification with 10+ hours of training, materials in multiple languages, license to print QPR booklets and cards locally, and pricing adjusted by World Bank economic zones.
• Suicide: The Forever Decision (Book) Book by Paul G. Quinnett written for individuals thinking about suicide and for family, friends, or counselors supporting them. Included with Gatekeeper training and sold separately.
• Counseling Suicidal People: A Therapy of Hope (Book) Comprehensive professional book for clinicians who assess or counsel people at risk for suicide, covering therapeutic strategies and collaborative working relationships.
• The Tender Leaves of Hope 24-page guide written for parents, family members, and friends of adolescents and adults currently in a suicide crisis. Sold in bundles of 25 sets.
• Helping a Child Survive a Suicide Crisis Tri-fold brochure describing seven practical steps to help prevent youth suicide. Sold in bundles of 50 sets for distribution to parents and caregivers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8+ million people trained worldwide in QPR gatekeeper training
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers29 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, foundational and supporting.

• Hope SquadscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHope Squads is a partner carrying QPR Institute's school-based suicide prevention program. The organization focuses on peer-to-peer suicide prevention in schools using QPR methodology.
• MazeteccoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology integration platform for QPR organizations to connect accounts, sync student data, access survey reports, and manage survey questions. Organizations with Owner or Organization Admin roles can link QPR accounts to Mazetec.
• American Association of Suicidology (AAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with AAS on the Paul G. Quinnett Lived Experience Writing Competition since 2015. Winning essays featured on both AAS and QPR Institute websites and displayed at AAS Annual Conference Awards Ceremony.
• Spokane Mental HealthfoundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal collaborator in developing QPR methodology and QPRT training program. Three-year joint effort led to founding of independent QPR Institute in July 1999.
• Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and TrainingfoundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator in development of QPRT Suicide Risk Management Inventory and training program. Provided research consultation and data collection services.
• Eastern Washington UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to offer QPRT in blended online version for continuing education and college credit. Core content incorporated into 3-credit college course from Department of Social Work and Human Services (2004).
• University of Northern IllinoissupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted comparison study of QPRT training impact on suicide risk assessment knowledge using 25-item standardized SRMI. Multi-site (N=28), multi-instructor study with N=1,136 participants (2006).
• University of South FloridasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducts formal external evaluation of QPRT training program (since 2012). Independent research team evaluating program effectiveness.
• University of Washington School of MedicinesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul Quinnett serves as Clinical Assistant Professor in Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, maintaining academic connection for research and credibility.
• Devereux FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplemented QPR Institute's Suicide Risk Reduction Program across 50+ facilities in 11 states with 5,000+ staff. Reported favorable outcomes to Joint Commission (2004, 2007).

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LivingWorks Education: LivingWorks is the most direct competitor to QPR Institute, offering ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and safeTALK suicide prevention gatekeeper programs with similar evidence-based positioning and a global certified trainer network. Both compete for the same enterprise training budgets in healthcare, education, and government.
• Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) USA / National Council for Mental Wellbeing: MHFA delivers mental health crisis response training (including suicide prevention modules) through a similarly structured certified instructor network and serves many of the same enterprise customers (universities, corporations, government). It is the most prominent parallel gatekeeper training program with comparable institutional credibility.
• Zero Suicide Institute (EDC): Zero Suicide is a quality improvement framework and training program for healthcare systems focused on suicide-safe care. It competes with QPRT specifically for clinical suicide risk management training budgets within inpatient and outpatient mental health settings.
• Jason Foundation: The Jason Foundation focuses specifically on youth suicide prevention and awareness training for schools, educators, and parents, directly competing with QPR for K-12 school district and youth-serving organization training contracts.

Emerging players

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP): AFSP is the leading national suicide prevention advocacy and research organization that also delivers Talk Saves Lives training programs. While primarily an advocacy nonprofit, it directly competes for community awareness training audiences and co-hosts the SPRC Best Practice Registry where QPR is listed.
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC): SPRC is a federally funded resource center that curates evidence-based suicide prevention programs and provides training/capacity-building assistance. It serves as both a referral source and partial competitor for institutional suicide prevention training adoption decisions.
• Kognito Interactive: Kognito builds simulation-based mental health training with virtual humans, used by universities and health systems for gatekeeper-style training. It overlaps with QPR's simulation methodology and competes for the same digital training budgets in higher education and healthcare.
• Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) competitors — RISE (Columbia University CISA): Columbia University CISA's RISE (Resilience, Intervention, Support, and Education) and related clinical suicide risk assessment training programs compete with QPRT for clinical training budgets in hospitals, residency programs, and mental health professional continuing education.

Others

• Crisis Text Line: Crisis Text Line provides crisis intervention services via text messaging and trains volunteer counselors. It is adjacent rather than directly competing, but represents a complementary channel for crisis response that some institutional customers may substitute or pair with QPR training.
• Vibrant Emotional Health (988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline administrator): Vibrant Emotional Health administers the 988 Lifeline and provides crisis intervention training, representing an ecosystem partner and occasional indirect competitor for government-funded suicide prevention training contracts.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/qpr-institute

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about QPR Institute