VR and simulation training for suicide prevention and sexual assault prevention (SAPR)

Last updated October 21, 2026

Training in which service members practice talking with a peer at risk of suicide, stepping in as a bystander, or supporting a victim of sexual assault, in VR or in simulated conversations.

This guide lists 7 providers of immersive suicide prevention and SAPR training, in alphabetical order: Alteristic (Green Dot), Catharsis Productions, LivingWorks, Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), Moth+Flame, SIMmersion and USC Institute for Creative Technologies. The order is not a ranking. Each provider is described with the same fields, from its own materials and public records, with sources.

1. Questions buyers ask

2. Overview

Prevention training in the U.S. military covers two areas. Suicide prevention teaches service members to spot warning signs, intervene and escort peers to help, and covers postvention and lethal means safety. Sexual assault prevention and response (SAPR) training covers bystander intervention, reporting options and victim support. Every military service requires annual suicide prevention training.

DoD's 2024 suicide report says a Department of the Air Force evaluation found virtual reality suicide prevention training participants had greater willingness to intervene in a crisis than those with traditional training. GAO reports the Navy was piloting virtual reality postvention modules in 2025, and Army policy lists online simulation modules for SHARP, including a bystander exercise.

Products must fit service rules. GAO reports the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force generally require annual suicide prevention training to be attended live, and Army SHARP annual refresher training is face to face. The 2023 independent review committee recommended modernizing training content, delivery and dosage, using small groups and tailoring training to each audience.

The problem

DoD reports that 471 service members died by suicide in 2024, down from 531 in 2023. Active Component suicide rates still increased from 2011 to 2024, and firearms were the method in 66 percent of 2024 suicides across the Total Force.

DoD's 2025 Workplace Experiences Survey, fielded August to November 2025, estimates how often service members in the Active and Reserve components experience unwanted sexual contact, sexual harassment and sex discrimination. Victims' reporting options depend on whom they tell: telling someone in the chain of command can trigger an official report.

Training effectiveness has not been fully assessed. In May 2026, GAO found that DoD's suicide prevention office does not receive training completion data from the services, and that no service had an evaluation plan for its annual suicide prevention training that met DoD policy requirements.

Mandates and programs

• DoD Instruction 6490.16, Defense Suicide Prevention Program. DoD's main suicide prevention policy, required by Section 582 of the FY2013 NDAA. It covers identifying and treating at-risk members, training mental health providers and postvention. A 2023 change added evaluation requirements for nonclinical activities such as training, including process and outcome metrics.
• DoD SAPR policy (DoDD 6495.01, DoDI 6495.02 and 32 CFR Part 103). These set DoD's SAPR program, including restricted and unrestricted reporting. Military departments must require continuing SAPR training for DoD personnel and specialized training for commanders, senior enlisted leaders and responders. The FY2012 NDAA requires training at accession, annual refreshers, professional military education, peer education and leadership courses.
• Independent Review Commission and the Primary Prevention Workforce. The Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military issued a report dated July 2, 2021. The FY2022 NDAA required a briefing on implementing its recommendations and directed DoD to build a Primary Prevention Workforce for sexual assault, harassment, suicide and other harms, set up under DoDI 6400.11.
• Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC). Section 738 of the FY2022 NDAA required DoD to set up the committee; its report was published January 2023. A September 2023 Secretary of Defense memo approved actions including 18 on nonclinical training: modernize content, delivery and dosage, tailor training to audiences, use small groups, and train leaders on postvention.
• Army training rules for suicide prevention and SHARP. Army policy names Ask, Care, Escort as its suicide prevention training model and requires annual face-to-face training; alternatives must meet DoD core competencies, with measurable objectives and evaluation. Army SHARP annual refresher training is face to face, and all SHARP training needs approval from the Director, SHARP Program.

3. Providers compared

Every provider below is described with the same fields and the same length limits, from its own published materials and public records. Where a provider does not publish something, the entry says “Not published.” Providers are in alphabetical order.

4. What to ask a vendor

1. Which DoD suicide prevention core competencies and service learning objectives does each scenario cover? Army policy says alternative suicide prevention training must meet DoD core competency requirements, be evidence-based with measurable learning objectives, and include evaluation methods.
2. How does the product fit live, small-group training requirements? GAO reports the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force generally require annual suicide prevention training to be attended live, and Army SHARP annual refresher training is face to face.
3. What evidence shows the training changes behavior, and who evaluated it? GAO found in May 2026 that no service had an evaluation plan for annual suicide prevention training that met DoD policy, which calls for process and outcome metrics.
4. Can completion and performance data flow into our training records system? GAO found the Army and Navy could not verify whether hundreds of course listings in their central training databases met the annual suicide prevention requirement.
5. Has our SAPR or SHARP program office reviewed and approved the content? Army policy requires all SHARP training to be reviewed and approved by the Director, SHARP Program before release.
6. How do scenarios portray restricted and unrestricted reporting, and who checked their accuracy? Only a SARC, SAPR victim advocate or healthcare personnel can accept a restricted report; telling someone in the chain of command can trigger an official report and investigation.
7. How does the content follow safe messaging guidance and support participants who become distressed? DoD's suicide report says the department follows safe reporting practices on suicide. Army policy notes topics can be triggering and recommends a certified SHARP professional attend SHARP training.
8. Does the training cover lethal means safety and leader postvention? Lethal means safety is one of DoD's five suicide prevention lines of effort, and DoD-approved committee actions include leader postvention training and secure firearm storage content.

5. How buying works

Commanders are responsible for providing suicide prevention training to their units. Army commanders may use alternative evidence-informed training approved by the senior commander, and Navy units may develop their own if it meets set objectives. Army SHARP training must be approved by the Director, SHARP Program.

GAO reported in May 2026 that Navy, Air Force and National Guard Bureau suicide prevention officials were working on contracts to modernize the content, delivery and dosage of suicide prevention training, as the independent review committee recommended.

Vehicles that can apply include SBIR Phase III awards, which continue earlier SBIR work with non-SBIR funds without a new competition; other transactions under 10 U.S.C. 4022 for prototypes, with possible follow-on production; and GSA's Multiple Award Schedule, whose training category can include simulators and simulation methods.

Requirements may change. In March 2025 the Secretary of Defense ordered a review of training, and an April 2025 review recommended combining suicide prevention, SAPR and three other prevention trainings into one annual course. As of December 2025 DoD had not decided, according to GAO.

For SBIR, GSA schedules, OTAs and other routes in general, see How buying works.

6. More questions