Course Summary

Practice Level: Intermediate

One of the most challenging and prevalent issues clinicians can face is a client’s suicidal crisis. Although many clients experience major depressive episodes, training on how to manage suicidality is often not a component of training curriculums. Working with a client in suicidal crisis can be difficult and evoke strong feelings in the therapist. This course provides guidelines on suicide assessment, treatment, and management and includes information on providing services via telemental health.

Course Format

This course contains downloadable online lessons (PDF) and a practice test. When you’re ready, purchase the course by clicking the “Add To Cart” or “Enroll” button. This will let you take the test, complete the course evaluation and receive your certificate for CE credits.

Learning Objectives

  • Discuss the terminology, prevalence, theories of suicide behavior
  • Identify risk and protective factors in suicide.
  • Discuss suicide and mental health issues.
  • Describe service utilization and treatment seeking.
  • Identify issues related to at-risk/vulnerable populations.
  • Recognize risk and protective factors among various ethnic and racial groups
  • Explain suicide assessment and managing suicidal clients.
  • Describe various treatment approaches (CBT, DBT, Interpersonal Therapy) for suicidality and therapeutic risk management.
  • Discuss issues in therapist self-care and working with survivors in the aftermath of suicide
  • Explain ethical and legal considerations

Course Syllabus

INTRODUCTION
                  Learning Objectives
TERMINOLOGY
PREVALENCE
THEORIES OF SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR
                  Cognitive Stress Diathesis Model
                  Clinical Stress Diathesis Models
                  Neurobiological Stress Diathesis Model
                  Interpersonal Model of Suicidal Behavior
RESEARCH IN SUICIDOLOGY
                  Key Research Findings and Risk Factors
                  Key Research Findings and Protective Factors
SUICIDE AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
                  Mood Disorders and Suicide
                  Substance Abuse and Suicide
                  Schizophrenia and Suicide
                  Anxiety Disorders and Suicide
                  Sleep Disorders and Suicide
                  Trauma, Personality Disorders, and Suicide
                  Eating Disorders and Suicide
                  Traumatic Brain Injury and Suicide
                  Emotion Regulation and Suicide
SERVICE UTILIZATION AND TREATMENT-SEEKING
AT-RISK AND VULNERABLE GROUPS
                  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Clients
                  Suicide and Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors
                  Suicide and the Armed-Forces
                  Elderly Clients
                  Teen Suicide
                  The Homeless
                  Incarcerated Individuals
                  Youth in Foster Care
                  Physician Suicide
RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS AMONG ETHNIC AND RACIAL GROUPS
                  Caucasians
                  African Americans
                  Native Americans
                  Immigration and the Risk of Suicide
                  Hispanic/Latinos
                  Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders
ASSESSING SUICIDE RISK
                  Warning Signs of Suicide
                  Assessment Process
                  Suicide Assessment Components
                  Recommendations for Conducting a Suicide Assessment
                  Telemental Health
                  Documentation
                  Estimation of Suicide Risk
                  Therapeutic Rapport and Alliance
MANAGING SUICIDAL CLIENTS
                  Guidelines for Hospitalization
                  Therapy for Suicidality
                  Models of Therapy
                  Safety Planning
THERAPEUTIC RISK MANAGEMENT
                  Aspects of Risk Management
                  Suicide Risk Assessment
                  Documentation
CARE FOR THE CLINICIAN
                  Supervision/Consultation
                  Signs of Burnout
                  Vicarious/Secondary Traumatic Stress
                  Compassion Fatigue
                  Antidotes to Burnout/Secondary Traumatic Stress/Compassion Fatigue
                  Personal and Professional Boundaries
CLIENT SUICIDE
                  Supporting a Client’s Family and Friends Following Suicide
                  Children and Suicide Loss
ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES

Authors

Hilary DeShong, PhD

Dr. Hilary L. DeShong earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Oklahoma State University in 2017. She is an Assistant Professor at Mississippi State. She teaches graduate courses in personality assessment, systems of psychotherapy, and clinical supervision. Dr. DeShong has several publications related to suicide, particularly looking at risk and/or protective factors for suicide (DeShong & Tucker, 2019 Meyer et al., 2017 DeShong et al., 2015 Tucker et al., 2014). Heidi Dalzell, Psy.D. is a psychologist in private practice specializing in eating disorders, as well as dual addictions, trauma, domestic violence and depression. She conducts individual and couples therapy with adolescent and adult clients. In addition to authoring numerous mental health courses she frequently blogs and writes newspaper articles about mental health topics.

Heidi Dalzell, Psy.D.

Heidi Dalzell, Psy.D. is a psychologist in private practice specializing in eating disorders, as well as dual addictions, trauma, domestic violence and depression. She conducts individual and couples therapy with adolescent and adult clients. In addition to authoring numerous mental health courses she frequently blogs and writes newspaper articles about mental health topics.

Accreditation Approval Statements

CE4Less.com, provider #1115, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/08/21-08/08/24. Social workers completing this course receive 6 clinical continuing education credits.

Courses have been approved by CE4Less.com, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #91345 CE4Less.com is responsible for all aspects of the programming.

We are committed to providing our learners with unbiased information. CE4Less never accepts commercial support and our authors have no significant financial or other conflicts of interest pertaining to the material.

Course Reviews

No Reviews Found!
Show more reviews
What's your experience? We'd love to know!