New Suicide Prevention Webinars

Sadie, a thirteen year old, has been cutting her arms for about 6 months. She says she’s not doing this to end her life, but because “it gets the sadness and anger out.” And, in fact, she also speaks of her wounds rather proudly saying, “Some kids play sports; others dance, I cut.” What is troubling Sadie? Actually lots of things: a bitter divorce between her parents, the recent death of a beloved grandparent, and a tendency either to be teased or ignored by peers at school.

Sam, at the age of sixteen, is already a veteran of the child welfare system. He’s lived in three foster homes, two group homes, and has just returned home to live with relatives for the first time in two years. Sam’s behavior is also troubling: sporadically cutting and burning himself, frequent marijuana use, and occasional risk-taking.

Self-injury is what these two teenagers have in common—both are directly and deliberately causing harm to themselves. This type of behavior can indicate that they may be at risk of suicide, though both of them deny thoughts of suicide. Self-injurious behavior is complicated, however, and it can be difficult to differentiate non-suicidal self-injury from suicidal behavior.

Understanding self-injury and how it is a risk factor for suicide among teens was the hot topic of a recent webinar from the Training Institute at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). With SPRC’s Mort Silverman and special guest, Barent Walsh, author of Treating Self-Injury: A Practical Guide, the webinar was a packed 90 minute session that covered facts, practical information, an example of a promising self-injury prevention program for high schools, as well as an interactive polls and discussion.

This webinar is one of a series offered by SPRC free-of-charge every four to eight weeks. Each webinar covers a different topic related to suicide; yet they all follow the same “Research to Practice” theme—with the goal of making suicide prevention research and best practices available and applicable to people in the field.

“What makes these webinars valuable is that the speakers report research findings and explain how to use that information, in a real-world setting, to prevent suicide,” said EDC’s Xan Young, Director of the Training Institute at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

Hugely popular, each webinar typically averages 300-400 participants—including mental health professionals, clinicians, nurses, case managers, suicide prevention coordinators, and hospital staff. And the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

“We are finding that our physicians and psychiatrists are needing more training and information about risk for suicide,” explained webinar participant Bandon Moore, a suicide prevention case manager for the VA medical center in North Carolina. “There were some great ideas presented on how to educate staff.”

In the past year the webinars have examined relevant issues including the effect of alcohol use on mental health and suicide among young people; and establishing a chain of care for individuals at risk of suicide.

“These Research to Practice Webinars serve a pressing need,” said Young. “And the online forum has made information about best practices in suicide prevention much more accessible to professionals throughout the United States and in other countries.”

Many agree, including a participant from a remote area of Montana. “The most useful thing about the webinar was the convenience of not attending a meeting such as this in some far-away place. We live in Montana and usually have to travel many miles to attend meetings.”

Plans for future “Research to Practice” webinar topics include suicide prevention and older adults; adapting programs for diverse communities; suicide prevention and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth.