Online via Zoom; lunch break 12pm-1pm

This course will address the psychological and mental health factors that contribute to suicide in the young. We will examine the impact that factors such as family history of suicide, untreated mental illness, bullying, and “death by text” have on suicide among youth. We will address ethical dilemmas posed by these clients and their families in assessing and treating suicidal youth, as well as the bereaved. We will identify some common errors made by clinicians in assessing and treating adolescents and young adults at risk for suicide and the ramifications of these errors. The course will determine best and evidence-based practices in individual and group clinical practice, and review larger scale preventive interventions that seek to lower rates of suicide and suicidal behaviors by at-risk youth.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will identify and learn to refute some common myths about suicide in children and adolescents.
• Participants will name three high risk factors for suicide in these age groups.
• Participants will name one suicide assessment tool in determining suicide.
• Participants will list two methods/programs for suicide prevention.
• Participants will differentiate between normal grief, complicated grief, and persistent complex bereavement disorder of suicide survivors.
• Participants will name two strategies for burnout prevention for clinicians engaged in suicide assessment and prevention work.