# SSD Consulting > SSD Consulting provides crisis response and suicide prevention training for first responders and communities, LOSS Team postvention services, peer support program design, and nonprofit and grants management consulting. SSD Consulting is led by Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon, M.S., GPC, a suicidologist and Grant Professional Certified (GPC) consultant with over thirteen years of nonprofit management experience and twenty-five years as a grants professional. She is a former Executive Director of a suicide prevention organization and specializes in crisis intervention training for law enforcement and first responders, suicide postvention, and the development of LOSS (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors) Teams. Clients include first responder agencies, law enforcement, nonprofits, schools and community organizations across the United States. Training is delivered virtually, live, and as self-paced online courses with certificates. ## Contact - Business name: SSD Consulting - Website: https://ssd-consulting.com - Email: stephanie@ssd-consulting.com - Phone: (605) 786-4618 - Area served: United States - Contact form and consultation booking: https://ssd-consulting.com/contact - Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ssd-consulting/ - Profile: https://www.facebook.com/ssdconsulting/ ## Services - [Crisis Response & Wellness Training](https://ssd-consulting.com/services/behavioral-health-training): Empowering first responders and communities with practical skills for mental health support, crisis intervention, and building resilience. - [LOSS Postvention Services](https://ssd-consulting.com/services/loss-postvention): Build survivor-centered postvention capacity: establish LOSS Teams, coordinate response, and support communities after a suicide loss. - [Nonprofit & Grants Management Services](https://ssd-consulting.com/services/nonprofit-grants-management): Comprehensive support for nonprofit organizations seeking to maximize their impact through strategic grant acquisition and organizational excellence. - [Peer Support & Resilience](https://ssd-consulting.com/services/peer-support-resilience): Design and strengthen peer support programs while building practical resilience across teams and leadership. ## Courses - [Adult Mental Health First Aid (Per Seat Training) Virtual](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/1): Learn to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders in a group training session with expert instruction. Consists of a 2-hour online self-paced training and a 6-hour virtual, interactive, instructor-led course. Professional Certification from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. - [Youth Mental Health First Aid (Per Seat Training) Virtual](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/2): Learn to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders in a group training session with expert instruction. Consists of a 2-hour online self-paced training and a 6-hour virtual, interactive, instructor-led course. Professional Certification from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. - [LOSS Team Coordinator Training (Live)](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/3): An intensive training for individuals who will lead and coordinate a local LOSS Team, delivered via live web conference. Includes technical assistance and consultation from the presenter to the host organization. - [Resilience for First Responders (Self-Paced)](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/4): Develop the psychological and emotional skills to navigate stress, trauma, and adversity effectively. - [5 Key Steps for Successful Grant Writing (Free Course)](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/5): Learn how to identify needs, plan details, find aligned funding, submit strong applications, and manage grants with sustainability and compliance in mind. - [Grant Writing 101: Foundations](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/6): Master the fundamentals of grant writing with this comprehensive course. Learn to identify opportunities, craft compelling proposals, and secure funding for behavioral health initiatives. This course includes 5 modules with over 30 lessons covering everything from basics to advanced strategies. - [De-escalation Language That Works](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/7): Master proven verbal techniques and tactical empathy for diffusing high-stress situations. Learn communication strategies that transform volatile encounters into manageable conversations, essential for first responders, crisis workers, and anyone who navigates conflict. - [Opioid Awareness: Tools for Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/8): Comprehensive training on the opioid crisis, focusing on prevention as the greatest tool in fighting addiction and overdoses. Learn evidence-based practices for recognizing signs of misuse, understanding the dangers of fentanyl and emerging synthetic opioids, and implementing effective treatment and harm reduction strategies. - [Advanced Grant Writing: Strategies for Complex Proposals](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/9): Take your grant writing skills to the next level with advanced strategies for complex federal and foundation proposals. Learn to manage multi-year grants, collaborate on consortium applications, navigate federal compliance requirements, and develop winning strategies for highly competitive funding opportunities. Ideal for experienced grant writers seeking to expand their expertise. - [Inside the Reviewer's Mind: What Grant Reviewers Really Look For](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/10): Go behind the scenes of the grant review process with an experienced federal and state peer reviewer. Learn how reviewers score and evaluate proposals, why applications gain or lose points, what separates funded proposals from unfunded ones, and practical strategies to make your next application more competitive. SSD Consulting is a provider of training sessions/events/presentations that have been accepted in the GPCI (Grant Professionals Certification Institute) Accepted Education Program. Full participation in the above-outlined presentations is applicable to 1 GPCI Education Point(s) towards acquiring the GPC (Grant Professional Certified) or in maintaining their GPC certification. GPCI COMPETENCIES: 2 - Organizational Development, 3 - Project Design, 4 - Application Development, 9 - Convincing Writing - [Lunch & Learn: Grant Writing 101 (Virtual)](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/11): Part of the Lunch & Learn Grant Writing Series, delivered live on Zoom. This four-session series covers the foundations of grant writing—understanding funding opportunities, planning your project, and building a competitive proposal. Sessions meet Thursdays, October 1, 8, 15, and 22, 2026. CEUs are included upon completion of the training. Register online to receive your Zoom access details. - [Lunch & Learn: Advanced Grant Writing (Virtual)](https://ssd-consulting.com/courses/12): Part of the Lunch & Learn Grant Writing Series, delivered live on Zoom. This four-session series builds on the fundamentals with advanced strategies for complex, competitive proposals—federal requirements, evaluation design, and what peer reviewers expect. Participants will have the opportunity to work on and complete a grant proposal of their own and have the instructor review it from the perspective of an experienced peer reviewer who scores grant applications. Sessions meet Tuesdays, November 3, 10, 17, and 24, 2026. CEUs are included upon completion of the training. Register online to receive your Zoom access details. ## Insights - [Inside the Reviewer's Mind: What Grant Reviewers Really Look For](https://ssd-consulting.com/insights/behind-the-submit-button-what-grant-peer-reviewers-look-for): Have you ever wondered what happens after you click Submit on a grant application? Gain an insider's perspective on the grant review process from an experienced federal and state peer reviewer—how reviewers score proposals, why applications gain or lose points, and what separates funded proposals from those that go unfunded. - [What is a L.O.S.S. Team and Why You Should Join This Team?](https://ssd-consulting.com/insights/what-is-a-loss-team-and-why-you-should-join): A L.O.S.S. Team Program (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors) is a specialized volunteer first-response model designed to support individuals immediately after a suicide death. Learn why this program is both necessary and effective. - [De-escalation Techniques That Really Work](https://ssd-consulting.com/insights/de-escalation-language-that-works): During times of stress, emotions run high, and words are shared that would never be said, escalating into situations that would not otherwise occur. Learn simple-to-remember techniques to de-escalate situations so they end positively. - [Peer Support After Critical Incidents](https://ssd-consulting.com/insights/peer-support-after-critical-incidents): Step-by-step protocols for providing immediate peer support following traumatic events. A practical guide for peer support team members responding to colleagues in crisis. - [Opioid Awareness: Tools for Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery](https://ssd-consulting.com/insights/opioid-awareness-understanding-addiction-and-paths-to-recovery): Opioids are a class of drugs most commonly used to reduce pain. While they play a vital role in medical treatment, their misuse has led to one of the most devastating public health crises in recent history. Learn about prevention, treatment, and recovery. - [Secondary Traumatic Stress and Compassion Fatigue Among First Responders](https://ssd-consulting.com/insights/secondary-traumatic-stress-and-compassion-fatigue-among-first-responders): People experience stress every day. It is an entirely normal reaction to life’s challenges, and some degree of stress is good for the body. If you stayed in bed all day and did not do anything, your body would become stiff, and you would be unable to respond to anything unexpected that comes your way. Your responses would slow down to the point that when something challenging and highly stressful does occur, your body would be unable to respond in a way that protects you from danger. - [Suicide Risk Among Law Enforcement Officers and Strategies for Prevention and Wellness](https://ssd-consulting.com/insights/building-mental-health-resilience-in-first-responders): Law enforcement officers have always had an unspoken mentality that one does not talk about the problems of the job when the psychological difficulties become too much to handle. Learn more about how to help officers build resilience and prevent suicide deaths. - [Grant Writing Training: 5 Key Steps for Success](https://ssd-consulting.com/insights/a-guide-to-securing-your-first-mental-health-grant): Very seldom will an organization receive a grant for a project if it does not put forth the effort to make the grant application and the project successful. Learn the five key steps for successful grant writing. ## Optional - [About Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon](https://ssd-consulting.com/about): Background, certifications, peer-reviewed publications and books. - [Grant Writing Toolkit](https://ssd-consulting.com/toolkit): Step-by-step grant writing guide with templates and checklists. - [Events](https://ssd-consulting.com/events): Upcoming training sessions and workshops. - [Certificate verification](https://ssd-consulting.com/verify): Verify an SSD Consulting course certificate. Note: SSD Consulting does not provide crisis services. Anyone in crisis in the US can call or text 988 (988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).