Suicide Prevention in Therapy: Having a Conversation and Developing a Safety Plan
Presented by Jill Harkavy-Friedman, PhD on 09-08-2017 at 9 a.m. Pacific (noon Eastern) to 11 a.m. Pacific (2 p.m. Eastern)
Discussing suicidal ideation and behavior in therapy can be difficult. Both experienced clinicians and those new in the field of mental health may face challenges when beginning a conversation about suicidality. Having an understanding of the risk factors for suicide and recognizing the warning signs in individuals in therapy is vital for that conversation to be effective. Being able to talk about suicide is only the first step in its prevention, and as the conversation evolves, clinicians must also know what changes in behavior and affect are signals for concern.
For this two-hour continuing education web conference, Dr. Jill Harkavy-Friedman returns to GoodTherapy.org to discuss strategies for gathering information about past and present suicidal ideation and behavior. As the Vice President of Research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Dr. Harkavy-Friedman has unique insight for beginning and maintaining effective conversations about suicidality. Attendees will learn which elements of these conversations are most beneficial as they collaborate with individuals to develop a personal safety plan in therapy.
Dr. Harkavy-Friedman will share research on personal safety planning and how clinicians can help individuals in therapy identify their own suicide warning signs and create a plan for managing their suicidal ideation and behavior. She will detail how identifying self-coping strategies and establishing supportive family members and friends are just two elements for preventing suicide. Dr. Harkavy-Friedman will discuss how distraction, personal environment, and avoiding lethal means are also vital for personal safety planning. Suicide can be prevented and clinicians can make a significant difference.
This intermediate instructional level web conference is designed to help clinicians:
- Identify evidence-based risk factors and warning signs for suicide.
- Demonstrate conversation skills for discussing suicidal ideation and behavior.
- Apply strategies for gathering information about past and present suicidality.
- List key elements for developing a personal safety plan.
- Recognize the importance of distraction, environment, and avoiding lethal means in personal safety planning.
If you have any questions or concerns about this web conference, or would like more information, please contact us here.
Event Reviews from Members
This was a very helpful and reassuring presentation. I appreciate the emphasis on collaboration. We are not alone in this struggle as clients or clinicians. - Laura Slagle, LMFT
Continuing Education (CE) Information
Two CE contact hours will be provided by GoodTherapy.org for attending this web conference in its entirety.
GoodTherapy.org is an Approved Education Provider by NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals (provider #135463). Of the eight counselor skill groups ascribed to by NAADAC, this course is classified within Counseling Services.
GoodTherapy.org is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEPTM) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements.
GoodTherapy.org is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. GoodTherapy.org maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
GoodTherapy.org, SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0395.
GoodTherapy.org, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0022 and for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0031.
To receive CE credit hours for an archived event, you will need to complete a survey as well as a 12 or 15-question exam, verifying that you listened to or watched the event in its entirety. Archived CE events generally are considered "homestudy" by licensing boards.
Registration Information
Premium and Pro Membership with GoodTherapy includes access to this web conference at no additional cost, as well as other member benefits such as a profile listing in GoodTherapy's Therapist Directory. Not yet a member? Sign up for a Premium or Pro Membership, here.
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Mental health professionals who are not members can attend this live web conference for $30.95 or access the homestudy recording for $15.50. Sign up here to purchase this CE course and earn a CE certificate.
If the event is canceled by GoodTherapy, registrants who purchased the event will be notified and the charge for the event will be refunded
If you have any questions or would like information regarding disability accommodations, please contact us.
Meet the Presenter
Jill Harkavy-Friedman, PhD
Jill Harkavy-Friedman, PhD is an associate professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University, a psychologist practicing in the state of New York, and the leader of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) research grant program. She works closely with several other AFSP teams to implement current research in the development of programs and messages supporting best practices for suicide prevention.
After completing her clinical internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital in 1984, Harvaky-Friedman took a position as assistant professor at Montefiore Medical Center, establishing the Adolescent Depression and Suicide Program there. She moved on to Columbia University five years later, where she gained associate professorship and eventually became Director of Curriculum for Psychiatric Research Fellowships.
Throughout her career of over 30 years as a researcher and clinician, Dr. Harkavy-Friedman has remained committed to suicide research and prevention, concentrating on suicidal behavior in adolescents and adults. She has pioneered aspects of suicide research and prevention in her work and was the first to ask high school students about suicidal behavior and ideation.
She has published nearly 100 articles and has lent her expertise to a number of publications, including USA Today, Newsweek, and the Washington Post. She received the Alexander Gralnick award in 2003 from the American Association for Suicidology.
Continuing Education Provider Approvals
GoodTherapy.org is Approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. GoodTherapy.org maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
GoodTherapy.org has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6380. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. GoodTherapy.org is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.- GoodTherapy.org, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0395.
- GoodTherapy.org, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0022 and for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0031.
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