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.
COVID-19 Policy: We ask that you follow the CDC guidelines as they apply to your vaccination status and the use of masks. This program has been approved for CEUs - 11.5 in- person hours and up to 27 hours available online following the conference. SCHEDULE OVERVIEW - For detailed descriptions of each session scroll down |
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Thursday, October 13 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 - Jessica Bell, Ph.D, MPH 9:00 - 10:30 AM - Put your Energy where your Heart is - Frank R. Campbell Ph.D, LCSW, C.T. 10:30 - 10:45 AM - Break 10:45 -12:15 PM - 24/7 Lifelines - Statewide Crisis Line & 988 – Cassie Villegas 12:15 - 1:00 PM - Lunch 1:15 - 2:45 PM - Breakout Sessions
2:45 - 3:00 pm - Break 3:00 -4:30 pm - Breakout Sessions
Friday, October 14 8:00 - 8:30 AM - Registration & Breakfast 8:30 - 10:00 AM - Surviving Suicide: The Challenges and the Journey - Stuart Smith 10:00 - 10:15 AM - Break 10:15 - 11:45 AM - Suicide and Prolonged Grief: Generating Hope in a Stressed World - Teri Krull, LCSW, RPT-S, DCSW (NASW) 12:00 - 1:00 PM - Lunch 1:15 - 2:45 PM - Breakout Sessions
2:45 - 3:00 pm - Break 3:00 -4:30 pm - Breakout Sessions
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2022 Sponsors
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Session Descriptions
Thursday, October 13
8:30 - 8:45 AM. Welcome - Nikki Kontz, LMSW - Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition President
8:45 - 9:00 AM - State of the State - Jessica Bell, PhD, MPH
9:00 - 10:30 AM - Put your Energy where your Heart is - Frank R. Campbell Ph.D, LCSW, C.T.
This session will focus on the importance of meaning making following a sudden and traumatic loss such as suicide. This presentation will describe the value of volunteering, advocacy and caution those attending on when to begin that phase of their grief journey.
10:30 - 10:45 AM - Break
10:45 -12:15 PM - 24/7 Lifelines - Statewide Crisis Line & 988 – Cassie Villegas
An overview of 988 implementation and Arizona Crisis System Changes
12:15 - 1:00 PM - Lunch
1:15 - 2:45 PM - Breakout Sessions
3:00 -4:30 pm - Breakout Sessions
Friday, October 14
8:00 - 8:30 AM - Registration & Breakfast
8:30 - 10:00 AM - Surviving Suicide: The Challenges and the Journey- Stuart Smith
In this overview of common experiences following a suicide-related loss, we will explore ways to normalize and support those experiences. The well worn pathways of many survivors of suicide are filled with tell-tale nuggets of knowledge and wisdom that can provide assistance to those newer to these uninvited challenges. Changes in priorities, awareness, relationships, life plans, spirituality and values will all be given consideration.
10:00 - 10:15 AM - Break
10:15 - 11:45 AM - Suicide and Prolonged Grief: Generating Hope in a Stressed World - Teri Krull, LCSW, RPT-S, DCSW (NASW)
Suicide of a loved one is difficult at any age and often more complicated for child clients. Child survivors of a loved one’s suicide historically have been overlooked as in treatment. For each of the 43,000 plus people who die each year from suicide, there are approximately 6 to 8 bereaved survivors per one suicide. Of those survivors, over 60,000 are children. The child’s caregivers are also bereaved survivors and distracted by their own grief, compromising their ability to objectively meet the needs of the children. The pandemic has dramatically influenced grief in general and specifically to suicide. As such, clinicians and caretakers are in a unique position to provide time sensitive, developmentally driven interventions of hope to support and treat these child clients.
This keynote will provide information about suicide; multicultural issues as it relates to suicide; general information regarding the pandemic; developmental considerations when serving the child client; interventions for consideration when working with this population, hope interventions and self-care for professionals and caretakers.
12:00 - 1:00 PM - Lunch
1:15 - 2:45 PM - Breakout Sessions
2:45 - 3:00 pm - Break
3:00 -4:30 pm - Breakout Sessions
8:30 - 8:45 AM. Welcome - Nikki Kontz, LMSW - Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition President
8:45 - 9:00 AM - State of the State - Jessica Bell, PhD, MPH
9:00 - 10:30 AM - Put your Energy where your Heart is - Frank R. Campbell Ph.D, LCSW, C.T.
This session will focus on the importance of meaning making following a sudden and traumatic loss such as suicide. This presentation will describe the value of volunteering, advocacy and caution those attending on when to begin that phase of their grief journey.
10:30 - 10:45 AM - Break
10:45 -12:15 PM - 24/7 Lifelines - Statewide Crisis Line & 988 – Cassie Villegas
An overview of 988 implementation and Arizona Crisis System Changes
12:15 - 1:00 PM - Lunch
1:15 - 2:45 PM - Breakout Sessions
- Why can't We All Just Get Along? - Frank R. Campbell Ph.D, LCSW, C.T.
This workshop will be of benefit to attendees who are struggling with family issues following the death. By a review of family systems theory and discussing the predictable dynamics that follow, traumatic Loss participants will see they are not alone.
- Personal Craziness Index - Mary Delaney, Ph.D.
The personal craziness index is a valuable build-it-yourself tool. "Craziness" fist appears as small changes in behavior that gradually move us away from a healthy lifestyle. Come join us to discover in what areas of personal behaviors your red flags surface. This session will be fun and informative as you create a personal compass that will help you navigate your way back to sanity again.
- Culture as a Protective Factor - Kyrene Yazzie, B.S.
Presenter will share their expertise implementing the theme “Culture IS Prevention” for an urban-living American Indian community to address trauma and youth substance use through the development of two research-based adaptations of curriculum and program implementation from a data-driven perspective. Workshop will also provide details on the development and implementation of the Suicide Prevention Convening for the American Indian Community. Presenter will describe the process and design with presenting the model and community feedback. This session will also provide insight on approaches to suicide prevention through culture and take a look at how the Phoenix Indian Center and the Urban Indian Coalition of Arizona utilizes this preventative means in the Urban Indian community. - Utilizing Caring Connections to Improve Loneliness and Social Isolation through Innovative Technology - Carol Turpin, Terry Randolph, MA, LPC & Suze Cucci, MA-HLP, CPHQ
Why should health plans and providers care about loneliness? Chronic loneliness is a huge and growing concern that is more detrimental to a person’s health than smoking or diabetes. Looking for ways to connect in meaningful ways with your clients? Mercy Care is elevating the member experience by reducing loneliness with evidence-based techniques and interventions and aiming to improve overall wellness by addressing SAMHSA’s Eight Dimensions of Wellness (emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual). Join us as we discuss our partnership with Pyx Health to address social determinants of health in Central AZ through an interactive app, and how it is helping our members feel supported. Mercy Care is a mission-driven, not-for-profit, Medicaid managed care health plan. We hold contracts with the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). AHCCCS is Arizona’s Medicaid agency. We have been helping Arizonans live healthier lives since 1985. We focus on the needs of the whole person, and we support recovery and resiliency.
3:00 -4:30 pm - Breakout Sessions
- Suicide Prevention Redefined - James Greenblatt, MD
This lecture introduces a model of suicide prevention inclusive not only of psychosocial factors but also biological factors - biomarkers linked to an increased risk of suicide. It explores new research supporting the legitimacy and potential clinical utility of biomarkers such as deficiencies of cholesterol (critical for cell membrane and brain function) and lithium (an essential trace nutrient), as well as blood-based markers of inflammation (which has deleterious effects on the brain) - all of which are robustly associated with increased risk.
We know there are biomarkers capable of identifying at-risk patients and, more importantly, distinguishing those at-risk patients who are more likely than others to cross whatever invisible threshold separates ideation from attempt. We have the means to test for these biomarkers and evidence-based strategies that can simply and effectively address biologic imbalances that such testing may reveal.
Bridging research, concept, and application, this presentation seeks to redefine our suicide prevention efforts, and reshape those systems meant to provide a lifeline to those in most critical need of our attention, care, and support. - SP 2.0 Clinical Telehealth: A National Suicide Prevention Program in the Veterans Administration - Erin Goldman, LMSW; Jessica Walker, Ph.D. & Lisa M. Betthauser, Ph.D.
This workshop will describe an innovative national program of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy (EBP) for treating suicide as the primary focus of treatment, based on a strong recommendation from the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline: Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide (2019) . We will discuss the process of developing and implementing this suicide prevention telehealth program within the Veterans Health Administration. We will describe one of the EBP’s from this program: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP). We will present the theoretical basis of and clinical protocol for CBT-SP as a therapy model that can be used with clients who are at high risk for suicidal behavior.
- Walking the Labyrinth: A Step-by-Step Journey of Self Care - Sue Palmer
How can an ancient, sacred pathway be relevant to my daily experience in the 21st Century? How can walking a circuitous path, alone or in community, benefit me emotionally, physically or spiritually? Why are labyrinths appearing in cancer centers, hospitals, college campuses, and assisted living facilities? In this session we will learn how walking the labyrinth can be used as a means of meditation, relaxation, and healing. We will unlock how to use the labyrinth in times of grief and loss, and other life transitions so that we can move forward with hope. We will explore using the labyrinth as a spiritual practice, regardless of what faith group we belong to. This session will be experiential, giving every participant the chance to walk the labyrinth and begin using this sacred space as a regular practice. - Postvention in a Post-Pandemic World - Sandra McNally, MA, LISAC & Morgan Phillips, LMSW, MPA
Postvention refers to interventions with those affected by a suicide death to provide comfort to those directly impacted, promote healthy grieving, and serve as a secondary prevention effort to minimize the risk of future suicides. In this workshop, the presenters will educate participants on current guidelines for effective postvention as they relate to schools, workplaces, organizations, and communities.
Friday, October 14
8:00 - 8:30 AM - Registration & Breakfast
8:30 - 10:00 AM - Surviving Suicide: The Challenges and the Journey- Stuart Smith
In this overview of common experiences following a suicide-related loss, we will explore ways to normalize and support those experiences. The well worn pathways of many survivors of suicide are filled with tell-tale nuggets of knowledge and wisdom that can provide assistance to those newer to these uninvited challenges. Changes in priorities, awareness, relationships, life plans, spirituality and values will all be given consideration.
10:00 - 10:15 AM - Break
10:15 - 11:45 AM - Suicide and Prolonged Grief: Generating Hope in a Stressed World - Teri Krull, LCSW, RPT-S, DCSW (NASW)
Suicide of a loved one is difficult at any age and often more complicated for child clients. Child survivors of a loved one’s suicide historically have been overlooked as in treatment. For each of the 43,000 plus people who die each year from suicide, there are approximately 6 to 8 bereaved survivors per one suicide. Of those survivors, over 60,000 are children. The child’s caregivers are also bereaved survivors and distracted by their own grief, compromising their ability to objectively meet the needs of the children. The pandemic has dramatically influenced grief in general and specifically to suicide. As such, clinicians and caretakers are in a unique position to provide time sensitive, developmentally driven interventions of hope to support and treat these child clients.
This keynote will provide information about suicide; multicultural issues as it relates to suicide; general information regarding the pandemic; developmental considerations when serving the child client; interventions for consideration when working with this population, hope interventions and self-care for professionals and caretakers.
12:00 - 1:00 PM - Lunch
1:15 - 2:45 PM - Breakout Sessions
- Self-Care and Grief: A Guide for Healthy Processing of Loss - Stuart Smith
While grief is a “Natural” process, it remains a difficult one. In this session we will examine ways to approach grief that are practical, comforting and honest while not promising to be easy. Much of what hinders us are cultural, intellectual and imagined concepts of grief, that don’t take into account the actual experience of loss. We will explore how to be both direct and kind with ourselves in journeys through loss. Constructive attitudes toward body, mind and spirit will all be considered.
- Suicide Prevention in the Wake of a Pandemic: Shifting QPR Training to a Virtual Platform - Corrie Brinley MSW; Chad Myler, MS, CHES & Christiana Castillo, MPH
This workshop session will offer participants an opportunity to learn about the University of Arizona’s Project Lifeline; its use of the Question Persuade, Refer (QPR) training; and the challenges of ensuring that suicide prevention programming is reaching high-risk student populations, such as students who are Indigenous, LGBTQ, and veterans. Project Lifeline is a comprehensive suicide prevention initiative focusing on reducing the incidence of suicide, suicide attempts, and their related risk factors such as alcohol and other drug misuse/abuse (AOD) among students at the University of Arizona, with a special emphasis on high-risk student populations. The project seeks to reduce adverse consequences of serious mental illness and substance use disorders, including suicide, AOD-related injuries, and school failure, through the development of a sustainable, comprehensive approach that enhances and evaluates services and campus infrastructure. Participants in this session will have the opportunity to learn about how the University of Arizona adapted their suicide prevention training approach in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lifeline QPR trainings and its associated evaluation were modified to be delivered virtually. These modifications created new opportunities to reach a much broader audience (including students, staff, faculty, and community partners). Participants in this session will learn about the challenges and opportunities Project Lifeline encountered in shifting their approach to suicide prevention training to a virtual landscape on campus. - Therapeutic Application of Play Interventions with Children - Teri Krull, LCSW, RPT-S, DCSW (NASW)
This breakout will address the merits of play interventions when working with children. Play is the language of children. Attentiveness to the child’s emotional expression through play supports the possibility and privilege of entering the child’s world. - Anyone Can Get Broken - David W. Covington, LPC, MBA
Millions struggle and tens of thousands die every year… yet, America shrugs. Time for hope. Moving America’s Soul on Suicide tells the stories of ten who have been there personally (MASoSfilm.com). These storytellers are us… Marine, attorney, psychologist, minister, teenager, coach. They share their strength, their suffering and their courage, and they show anyone can come back. David Covington and Dr. Thomas Joiner are co-producers and partnering with Justin Shelby as director.
2:45 - 3:00 pm - Break
3:00 -4:30 pm - Breakout Sessions
- Peer-led Strategies for Improving Mental Well-being on Arizona High School Campuses - Grace Kirker, MPA, CHES
The Peer-to-Peer Impact High School Mental Health Toolkit was developed in partnership with ASU’s Devils 4 Devils student mental health organization and high school mental health clubs to support school mental health initiatives and provide a framework for the creation of scalable school mental health strategies. The toolkit is designed to enhance students’ helping and self-care skills, improve recognition of warning signs and risks, develop empathic communication skills, know how and when to refer a friend to a helping adult, and access information about available resources in their school and community. In addition, it provides a Road Map for impact centered on engaging students in developing a student-driven plan for the social-emotional well-being of its student body. Participants in this presentation will identify helpful strategies for creating peer-to-peer initiatives in their communities and gain insight on creating their own peer-led initiative and implementing the High School Mental Health Toolkit created by Arizona State University. - COVID and Suicide: Understanding the Relationship and How to Support Our Youth - Paula McCall, Ph.D., NCSP
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of our youth, especially in regard to suicide ideation and attempt, is still being explored, with some surprising results. While suicides among youth ultimately increased in 2020 from 2019, there also were reduced periods of ideation and attempt coupled with increased help seeking in the early months of the pandemic. This workshop will explore the varying impact of the pandemic on our youth, as well as possible reasons for the changes that were observed. It also will explore the impact that the pandemic has had on our youth’s critical factors of resiliency and how to proceed in assessing suicide risk and promoting resiliency in our youth moving forward through the ongoing pandemic. - Borderline Personality Disorder: New Insights & Hope for Recovery- William Beverly, Ph.D., LMFT, CCHP
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a diagnosis that has historically been difficult to understand, and even more difficult to treat successfully. The core symptoms associated with it are severe emotional instability, unstable relationships, chronic feelings of emptiness, and self-destructive behavior, including suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). This widely misunderstood diagnosis is often viewed as a life sentence of suffering, with a poor prognosis for recovery. But new insights into the disorder, leading to new, more effective treatments, have made the prognosis for someone with BPD much more promising. With appropriate supports and early intervention, a majority of people with BPD can successfully learn to regulate their overwhelming emotions, stop self-destructive behavior, and experience health growth and change. This session looks at this research on recovery and BPD, with implications for health care professionals as well as those who have a family member or loved one struggling with BPD, offering insight and hope for recovery. - Drumming for Hope- Andrew Ecker & Monica Patton
During this workshop participants will experience an evidenced based intervention that utilizes recreational music and a peer based support model. This experience creates a safe environment for people and communities to process the relationship we all have with Suicide. Participants will learn ways that they can utilize this model for their own communities and create their own experiences to support healthy people, families and organizations with a viable safe way to process feelings associated with suicide and promote suicide prevention in a fun evidenced based wellness approach.
Thank you to our conference sponsors:
