2025 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
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This conference will be held in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual experiences. Virtual attendees will receive an email with instructions on how to attend. All attendees will have access to recordings of all sessions following the conference.
PARKING All attendees must park in the Park Central Garage (see Map). Bring your parking ticket to the registration table at the end of each day for validation. THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR UP TO 12 HOURS OF IN-PERSON CEU CREDITS AND A TOTAL OF 22 HOURS IF ATTENDEES CONTINUE TO WATCH ALL SESSIONS ONLINE AFTER THE CONFERENCE. SCHEDULE OVERVIEW - For detailed descriptions of each session scroll down |
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Monday, October 27
8:00 - 8:30 AM Registration & Breakfast 8:30 - 8:45 AM Welcome - Nikki Kontz, LMSW - Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition President 8:45 - 9:00 AM - State of the State - Joshua Stegemeyer, MA 9:00 - 10:30 AM - Messaging Matters, Principles of Effective Communication for Suicide Prevention - Stan Collins 10:30 - 10:45 AM - Break 10:45 -12:15 PM - Loneliness, Isolation and Suicide: Recognizing and Responding to Social Withdrawal - William Beverly, Ph.D., LMFT, CCHP 12:15 - 1:00 PM - Lunch 1:15 - 2:45 PM - Breakout Sessions
3:00 -4:30 pm - Breakout Sessions
Tuesday, October 28 8:00 - 8:30 AM - Registration & Breakfast 8:30 - 10:00 AM - Light in the Darkness: Posttraumatic Growth and Faith in Suicide Loss Survivors - Melinda Moore, Ph.D. 10:00 - 10:15 AM - Break 10:15 - 11:45 AM - Guidance for Culturally Infusing Suicide Prevention Efforts to Support Our Diverse Communities - Joyce P Chu, Ph.D. 12:00 - 1:00 PM - Lunch 1:15 - 2:45 PM - Breakout Sessions
3:00 -4:30 pm - Breakout Sessions
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Thank you to our sponsors:
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Session Descriptions
Monday, October 27
8:00 - 8:30 AM Registration & Breakfast
8:30 - 8:45 AM Welcome - Nikki Kontz, LMSW - Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition President
8:45 - 9:00 AM - State of the State - Joshua Stegemeyer, MA
9:00 - 10:30 AM -
- Planning for Living: Means Safety and Firearm Suicide Prevention - Stan Collins
The presentation will provide an overview of best practices, research and guiding principles for utilizing means safety for suicide prevention. Means Safety for suicide prevention refers to strategies that can be taken to reduce and/or restrict access to mechanisms that can be used for a suicide attempt. During the presentation, attendees will be introduced to various categories of means safety for suicide prevention both at the personal and professional levels with an emphasis on firearm suicide prevention. The presentation will also examine lessons learned from working in partnership with the firearm community.
10:30 - 10:45 AM - Break
10:45 -12:15 PM - Loneliness, Isolation and Suicide: Recognizing and Responding to Social Withdrawal - William Beverly, Ph.D., LMFT, CCHP
One of the most tragic aspects of suicide is it typically involves dying alone. Those who lose their life to suicide often have people in their lives who care deeply about them, though feelings of alienation and loneliness can be persistent and debilitating. This workshop discusses the relationship between social isolation and suicide, with a closer examination of the social withdrawal pattern often experienced by those struggling with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Implications for both helping professionals and loved ones/concerned others are provided.
12:15 - 1:00 PM - Lunch
1:15 - 2:45 PM - Breakout Sessions
- Messaging Matters, Principles of Effective Communication for Suicide Prevention - Stan Collins
How we communicate about suicide and prevention shapes our views, opinions and behaviors. During the presentation attendees will learn how to safely and effectively communicate to support suicide prevention. Attendees will explore criteria to evaluate and create messages that not only "do no harm" but more importantly focus on hope, support, and prevention in order to help people find their reasons for living. The presentation will also offer strategies for elevating the voices of youth and peers by bringing their wisdom, knowledge and power to messaging efforts. In addition, attendees will be introduced to the Directing Change Program and Film Contest where youth create 60-second films on suicide prevention and mental health.
- Ketamine Therapy and Suicide Prevention - Quinn Snyder, MD
Ketamine is a medication that achieves incredible results for a variety of common psychological conditions including depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, and eating disorders. It may also be the most powerful ant-suicidal medicine currently available.
This lecture will examine the literature, clinical practices, availability, as well as the current regulatory environment surrounding ketamine therapy. - The Changing Landscape of Mobile Crisis Intervention - Michele Russell, LMSW & Elizabeth Jimenez, LPC
LaFrontera EMPACT-SPC has a long history of providing mobile team services. Since the program’s inception in 1987, EMPACT has been responding in-person to mental health crisis calls. We prioritize building trust, providing a safe environment and facilitating compassionate care for those in crisis. Training in various modalities to help de-escalate, assess and resolve crisis situations, mobile teams respond to crises for adults and children concerning self-harm/suicide, aggression/danger to others, psychosis, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, domestic violence, housing problems and more! EMPACT mobile teams have the goal of providing care in the least restrictive environment and will provide care and support for the members in their current crisis, connection to resources and supports, and offer follow up care. The roll out of 988 and mental health crisis calls diverted from 911 to crisis has meant the expansion of services and that many community members experiencing a mental health crisis will never engage with law enforcement. The presenters will discuss this ever-changing landscape of mobile crisis response. The diversity of crisis response, providing quality care to the community members in need and the collaborations that make it all possible will also be reviewed. - Bridges of Hope: Systems to Sustain Statewide Suicide Prevention Initiatives - Autumn White, Ed.D. & Samantha Reeves
This comprehensive workshop offers a roadmap of sustainable suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention initiatives the Arizona Department of Education, in partnership with The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), have been implementing since the inception of Arizona Project AWARE in 2018. Through a combination of expert-led discussions, engaging exercises, practical application tools, attendees will explore best practices to build lasting systems that promote suicide awareness, prevention, early intervention, and continuity of care for Arizona youth, families, and communities.
3:00 -4:30 pm - Breakout Sessions
- Arizona State Suicide Prevention Plan Refresh - Joshua Stegemeyer, MA
Arizona’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan is continuing its evolution from a 1-year plan in 2022, to a comprehensive five-year strategic framework (2026–2030). In this session, ADHS will showcase the final “refreshed” plan and unpack its two pillars of focus—internal capacity strengthening and statewide collaborative strategies. You’ll hear how we leveraged a series of focus groups, stakeholder discussions, and facilitated listening sessions to ensure the new plan reflects the diverse perspectives of providers, advocates, community organizers, and individuals with lived experience. By the end, you’ll understand both the content of our strategic goals and the participatory process that will drive implementation across Arizona.
- Healing Across Generations: Building Emotional Literacy for Suicide Prevention - Lolan Lauvao
This presentation offers a culturally grounded approach to suicide prevention, blending emotional literacy with the wisdom of the 7 Generation Principles.
Participants will explore how understanding and expressing emotions can be powerful tools in preventing suicide, supporting those experiencing suicidal ideations, and healing from the loss of loved ones. By rooting the conversation in Indigenous values of intergenerational responsibility and community care, this session empowers individuals to be present, connected, and courageous in the face of emotional distress and trauma. - The Truth about the Christian Theology of Death by Suicide - Jason Kelly & Mary Permoda
This presentation will provide a basic understanding of the religious truths of the Christian Church as they relate to those who die by suicide and provide spiritual resources for suicide survivors. We will provide counselors with a basic understanding of Christian theology in order to help counselors begin to address, and provide resources for, their clients struggling with their religious faith when it intersects with suicide. We will also provide spiritual resources which professional counselors can use for referrals
Tuesday, October 28
8:00 - 8:30 AM - Registration & Breakfast
8:30 - 10:00 AM - Light in the Darkness: Posttraumatic Growth and Faith in Suicide Loss Survivors - Melinda Moore, Ph.D.
In the aftermath of a traumatic loss, survivors often experience life changes that are collectively termed posttraumatic growth (PTG), in the domains of greater appreciation for life, new possibilities, personal strength, relating to others, and spiritual development. Of
the five factors, research suggests that spirituality overlaps the least with the others and the least with overall PTG, with many participants reporting profound spiritual growth while a similar number report none at all. This keynote considers the implications of such findings for both clinicians and loss survivors themselves, as they attempt to navigate the aftermath of suicide loss. For many mourners, faith can be a powerful tool for surviving such events and helps them process what has happened. It also gives them guidance as to how to bring new order into their chaotic experience. For others, wrestling with questions of faith and faith practices may be critical to resolve in order to achieve the changes appreciated as growth.
10:00 - 10:15 AM - Break
10:15 - 11:45 AM - Guidance for Culturally Infusing Suicide Prevention Efforts to Support Our Diverse Communities - Joyce P Chu, Ph.D.
Though studies have long shown that suicide looks and develops differently in ethnic minority, LGBTQ+, and other cultural minority groups, gaps in existing approaches to suicide prevention have highlighted the need for guidance on how to systematically infuse culture and diversity into programmatic efforts. This webinar will address these gaps by providing a foundational understanding of how suicide differs across cultural groups, and covering advances in culturally responsive approaches to suicide prevention and management. Attendees will learn state-of-science theoretical and applied research (e.g., including key principles of the Cultural Theory and Model of Suicide) as practical approaches to assist suicide prevention programs, leaders, clinicians, and community stakeholders in accounting for culture and diversity in suicide prevention across a range of diverse populations. Attendees will be exposed to applied examples to stimulate their understanding of how to transform their own programs, practices, and prevention efforts.
12:00 - 1:00 PM - Lunch
1:15 - 2:45 PM - Breakout Sessions
- Increasing accessibility and equity within suicide prevention trainings via language translation and cultural infusion - Joyce P Chu, Ph.D.
An ongoing challenge in the quest equity in suicide prevention efforts, is the need for suicide prevention community trainings that fit the culture and diversity needs of numerous cultural communities (each with their own multiple intersecting cultural identities), balanced with available of trainings in multiple languages. Limited resources make it difficult to achieve accessibility and attention to the unique needs of multiple communities. The current presentation discusses how to feasibly approach these challenges with evidence-based solutions and partnerships that can further our collective journey towards equitable suicide prevention. Presenters will present examples via development of the SPRC Best Practices Registry-listed Be Sensitive, Be Brave for Suicide Prevention community helper training. Participants will learn critical components needed to make suicide prevention and mental health community trainings more accessible for non-English-speaking, culturally diverse, underserved communities. - What is NAMI and how can they help? One way to end the Mental Health Stigma is with presentations like Ending the Silence - Angela Cross
Our NAMI Ending the Silence program is an in-person presentation that helps middle and high school aged youth learn about the warning signs of mental health conditions and what steps to take if they or a loved one are showing signs of a mental health condition. As part of the presentation, we also have a young adult presenter who shares their story of recovery. This adds a unique element in that our young adult presenters have real life experience with a mental health condition and can share and connect with youth. It is a free, evidence-based presentation, geared for 6th-12th graders, lasting for about an hour. We also have a family version where we help family members navigate potential struggles their children may be experiencing with their mental health journey. Lastly, we have a staff version we use to help staff members learn to communicate with students and their families about youth and their mental health. - Digital Cries: Understanding Suicide in Online Spaces - Marc Palma
This workshop will discuss how online platforms are reshaping the way people discuss suicide. To be more specific, emerging patterns, risks, and opportunities for intervention in the digital age will be highlighted. The workshop draws on a study that breaks new ground by analyzing how individuals express suicidal thoughts, decisions, and motivations in a pro-choice suicide forum—an increasingly prevalent medium through which individuals share experiences. Drawing from a dataset of N = 500 posts on Sanctioned-Suicide.net, this study develops a multi-dimensional framework categorizing users' internal feelings, causes of distress, stages in the suicide process, and reasons for disclosure. An innovative contribution of this study is its framework depicting a new model of suicide—one that is nonlinear and often cyclical—deviating from the traditional linear understanding of suicide. The model captures the ongoing, dynamic nature of suicide and reflects the recurring patterns observed in real-life experiences shared in the digital era.
This study further offers unique insight into a largely unstudied population within a censorship-free digital environment. Through in-depth qualitative categorization, the study captures how users articulate psychological suffering, rationalization, and ambivalence in a format free from clinical oversight. Valuable unfiltered expressions resulting from this anonymity can be seen that would otherwise be extremely difficult to access. By investigating these discourses, the study pushes for further understanding of the suicidal experience. This presentation highlights not only the core findings and innovative model that emerged from the study but also the broader implications of this unfiltered digital suicidal discourse and considerations for clinicians, researchers, and suicide prevention initiatives.
- Real Skills for the Real World: Youth Suicide Intervention - Morgan Hines, LMSW, MPA
This training is designed to equip youth-serving professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to identify and respond to youth at risk for suicide. Through a comprehensive, multi-module approach, participants will gain a deep understanding of the complex factors surrounding youth suicide, including biological, environmental, cultural, and psychological risk factors. Topics include identifying protective factors that support youth resilience, recognizing the warning signs of suicide and self-injury, and differentiating between the two. The training incorporates hands-on activities such as case studies to help participants apply their learning in real-world scenarios. Participants will also be trained in conducting suicide risk assessments, developing safety plans, and understanding legal responsibilities related to mandated reporting. Additional modules focus on engaging parents or guardians, connecting families with community resources, and supporting youth during follow-up and school re-entry. By the end of the training, attendees will be prepared to take proactive, informed, and compassionate action in supporting youth mental health and safety.
3:00 -4:30 pm - Breakout Sessions
- Exploring how Complicated Spiritual Grief Shapes our Experiences of Loss and Growth - Melinda Moore, Ph.D.
Tragic loss ushers in a process of reviewing, reaffirming or revising our beliefs, with outcomes ranging from what has been termed complicated spiritual grief on the one extreme to profound spiritual growth on the other. This breakout session addresses the intersection of spiritual struggle or questioning and PTG, offering a clear conceptualization of the processes that contribute to both, as well as guidelines and practices for intervention in the context of bereavement support and grief therapy for suicide loss, whether the helping professional is working in a religious or secular counseling context. - Hidden in Plain Sight: Suicide Risk and Grief Among Birthmothers After Adoption - Nicole Valenzuela, LMSW & Lane Krumpos, MPA
This 90-minute interactive session will explore the intersections of adoption trauma, ambiguous loss, complicated grief, and long-term suicide risk among birthmothers. Research shows that birthmothers are up to four times more likely to experience suicidal ideation and face elevated rates of depression, PTSD, and unresolved grief—often lasting decades after placement. Participants will examine current data, identify critical risk periods, and learn actionable, trauma-informed strategies to support birthmothers across the lifespan.
Special emphasis will be placed on the protective role of culturally grounded prenatal and postpartum care, including doula support, which fosters emotional safety, reduces isolation, and affirms the birthmother’s dignity and agency during an intensely vulnerable time. The session will center relational healing and connection by introducing participants to compassionate, strengths-based approaches that restore trust and reduce risk. A comprehensive resource toolkit will be provided, offering access to national helplines, peer networks, and culturally responsive grief and mental health supports tailored to the needs of birthmothers and the providers who serve them. - Crisis to Connection: Rebuilding Systems of Care Through Recovery and Renewal
- Amy Castellanos & Michelle Sombrano
In the aftermath of suicide, leaders are often expected to provide stability for others while carrying the weight of their own grief. Most systems teach us to respond with urgency over care—prioritizing liability, messaging, and procedural control. We rush to stabilize what is meant to be chaotic, to return to normal when what’s truly needed is space for renewal. In doing so, systems often remove agency from both survivors and leaders, unintentionally deepening trauma and delaying healing.
Postvention is prevention, but it must extend beyond the first six weeks of crisis response. It is more than memorials or messaging—it is how we hold one another through the nonlinear journey of grief. Without relationally grounded postvention practices, leaders are left to navigate high-stakes situations without support, context, or emotional space. When urgency dominates, systems silence grief and miss the chance to build trust and connection.
This session offers a path forward. Grounded in Part Two of Leaning In and Leading Out to Renew, the workshop introduces trauma-informed, healing-centered strategies to move from reactive control to relational connection. Facilitators draw from lived experience, research, and systems change work to explore how trust, agency, and emotional safety are essential to recovery and renewal.
Participants will engage in reflection and real-world application to practice shifting from top-down mandates to relational repair. They will leave with tools to co-create systems that honor loss, restore agency, and support compassionate, sustainable care.
- Cultura, Communidad, y Corazon: Challenges, Strength, and Solutions Preventing Suicide Among Latino Youth
- Brissa Rubio
This workshop explores the unique factors influencing suicide risk among Latino youth, centering the conversation on cultura (culture), comunidad (community), and corazón (heart). Participants will examine the challenges Latino youth face, including stigma, generational trauma, acculturation stress, and access barriers to mental health services, while also highlighting the strengths rooted in family, cultural identity, and community resilience.
Through storytelling, data, and dialogue, this session will share culturally responsive strategies for suicide prevention and early intervention. Attendees will leave with practical tools, resources, and action-oriented solutions to support Latino youth communities.