Suicide Assessment and Intervention: Assess Suicidal Ideation and Effectively Intervene in Crisis Situations with Confidence, Composure and Sensitivity

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Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyD Related seminars and products

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Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and inspirational international speaker. Dr. Spencer-Thomas was moved to work in suicide prevention after her younger brother, a Denver entrepreneur, died of suicide after a difficult battle with bipolar condition.

Dr. Spencer-Thomas has been an invited speaker at the White House on the topics of mental health and suicide prevention and has held leadership positions for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the International Association for Suicide Prevention, the American Association for Suicidology, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. She has won multiple awards for her leadership including the 2014 Survivor of the Year from the American Association of Suicidology, the 2014 Invisible Disabilities Association Impact Honors Award, the 2012 Alumni Master Scholar from the University of Denver, the 2015 Farbarow Award from the International Association for Suicide Prevention and the 2016 Career Achievement Alumni Award from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology.

She has a Doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Denver, a Masters in non-profit management from Regis University, and a bachelor’s in psychology and studio art with a minor in economics from Bowdoin College. She has written four books on mental health and violence prevention.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Sally Spencer Thomas maintains a private practice and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Sally Spencer Thomas is the president of United Suicide Survivors International and is a member of the executive board for the American Association of Suicidology. She is co-chair of the Workplace Special Interest Group for the International Association of Suicide Prevention and is a member of the Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Alternate Options

Objectives

1. Assess individuals at risk of suicide with a clinical approach that identifies both explicit and implicit expressions of suicidal thought.
2. Determine key indicators of imminent suicide and develop a strategy for determining when and how to hospitalize clients.
3. Formulate a CBT and DBT oriented case conceptualization that addresses how to effectively work with specific populations including veterans and the elderly.
4. Employ a collaborative safety approach to help clients survive a suicidal crisis.
5. Develop communication strategies that convey compassion and support and strengthen the therapeutic alliance.
6. Design a multi-systemic approach that reduces access to lethal means and incorporates the suicidal person’s social connections into their safety plan.

Outline

Suicide: Who, When, How and Where

• Addiction recovery
• Trauma-informed care
• Populations with multiple risk factors
• Suicide attempt survivors – learning from their experience
• Upstream clinical practices: reaching people before the point of crisis

Elicit Key Information from Suicidal Clients: Assessment and Level of Risk

• Implicit and explicit expressions of suicidal thoughts
• Communicating caring: Language to impart compassion and avoid stigma
• Suicide risk assessment
  • SAFE-T
  • PATH WARM
  • Ideation, plan, means, intent
  • Level of risk

Formulate Treatment Plans that Help Clients Regulate Emotions and Make Them Feel Valued and Connected

• Collaborative safety planning (or “Why Suicide Contracting is Dead”)
• Proactive approaches to decrease the likelihood of suicidal despair
• Multi-system approaches – support systems
• Evidence-based treatments:
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
    • Cognitive restructuring strategies
    • Emotional regulation exercises
    • Behavioural Activation
  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
    • How to organize a skills training group
    • Tips for phone coaching
• Relapse prevention plans
• Documentation
• Reduce access to lethal means
• Working with specific populations: veterans, the elderly

Confidently Handle Crisis Situations

• Conduct a behavioural chain analysis
• Validating reasons for suicide
• Identify reasons for living
• Use distress tolerance and CBT skills to manage a crisis
• When and how to hospitalize

Suicide Grief Support and Innovative Suicide-Specific Care

• Implement Suicide Grief Support
  • Understand the unique nature of suicide grief
  • Peer-based support: Connect clients to other survivors of loss​
• Other innovative suicide-specific care
  • Collaborative online tools and applications
• Clinicians with lived experience
• Post-traumatic growth and suicide

Target Audience

• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Counselors
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Case Managers
• Addiction Counselors
• Therapists
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals
• School-Based Counselors
• School-Based Psychologists
• School-Based Social Workers
• School Administrators