In Session: Practicing Clinical Skills to Prevent Suicide

Course overview

Despite increased efforts to prevent suicide, the rates continue to rise. In 2018, over 48,000 Americans died by suicide. Suicide rates in the U.S. increased by 35% from 1999 to 2018 (Hedegaard et al., 2020). While individuals of all ages are impacted by suicide, middle-aged adults between the ages of 45 and 54 years old have the highest suicide rates of any age group in the U.S. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020). Men are far more likely to die by suicide than women, with nearly 70% of suicides in the U.S. occurring among men (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [AFSP], 2020). Given these staggering figures, the likelihood is high that you, as a behavioral health professional, will encounter individuals at risk for suicide. It is imperative that you understand how to identify individuals who are at risk for suicide and, once identified, that you know what interventions can help prevent suicidal behavior. This course will provide you with an opportunity to apply your existing knowledge of suicide prevention to assess and intervene with an at-risk, middle-aged man. By interacting with him in a simulated therapy session, you will see how your selection of responses impacts his level of risk and his outcome. Supervisory input will also help guide you through this simulation exercise. If you have not participated in in-depth training on suicide risk assessment and interventions, we recommend that you review our other suicide prevention courses first. After learning about evidence-based approaches for reducing suicide risk, you can then use this simulation to reinforce your knowledge. The goal of this course is to provide alcohol and drug counseling, behavioral health counseling, marriage and family therapy, psychology, and social work professionals in health and human services settings with an opportunity to apply your existing knowledge to assess and intervene with an at-risk adult.