In this 90-minute webinar participants will learn about new suicide prevention interventions that incorporate significant others and loved ones. Over the last two decades the frequency of suicidal thoughts, behaviors, and deaths has risen in the United States and remains high. This crisis has spurred the rapid development of interventions to prevent suicide. A common element across these interventions is their sole focus on the suicidal individual. This is in stark contrast to the critical role interpersonal connections play in suicide risk – a role highlighted by suicide theory, empirical data, complementary evidence, and best practice recommendations. However, including loved ones in treatments for suicidal individuals also presents unique challenges – suicidal individuals fear stigma, poor response to their disclosure and being a burden to others. Allies of suicidal individuals are hindered by misinformation, limited self-efficacy in helping, and high stress levels.
The presentation will explore what contemporary suicide theories suggest about the role of significant others in suicide prevention and describe emerging interventions that involve significant others. The presentation will take a deep dive into the couples crisis response plan, a novel single session suicide prevention intervention currently being tested among psychiatrically hospitalized Service members and Veterans.
Learning Objectives:
Attendees will be able to:
- Evaluate the benefits and challenges of including significant others in suicide prevention
- Differentiate at least two newly developed dyadic suicide prevention intervention