CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR 6 HOURS OF CEUs PER DAY.
All attendees requiring CEUs must sig in and out each day. Certificates are available at the end of each day.
SCHEDULE OVERVIEW - For detailed descriptions of each session scroll down
Wednesday: October 24
7:30 AM Registration Opens
8:00 am Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am Nikki Kontz, LMSW AZSPC Board President - Welcome & State of the State
9:00 am - 10:30 am Martin D. Cheatle, Ph.D.
Pain Substance Use Disorders and Suicide: Epidemiology, Assessment and Risk Mitigation
10:45 am - 12:15 pm Frank Campbell, , Ph.D., LCSW
An Approach to Treating Complicated Bereavement
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm Networking Lunch
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm Breakout Sessions
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Breakout Sessions
Thursday: October 25
7:30 AM Registration Opens
8:00 AM Breakfast
8:30 am - 8:45 am Nikki Kontz, LMSW, AZSPC Board President - Welcome
8:45 am - 10:15 am Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW
The Power of Six: Suicide Prevention from Cells to the Cloud
10:15 am – 10:30 am Break
10:30 am - 12:00 pm Michelle L. Rusk, Ph.D.
The Rearview Mirror: Twenty-five Years Later
12:00 pm – 1:15 pm Networking Lunch
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm Breakout Sessions
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Breakout sessions
All attendees requiring CEUs must sig in and out each day. Certificates are available at the end of each day.
SCHEDULE OVERVIEW - For detailed descriptions of each session scroll down
Wednesday: October 24
7:30 AM Registration Opens
8:00 am Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am Nikki Kontz, LMSW AZSPC Board President - Welcome & State of the State
9:00 am - 10:30 am Martin D. Cheatle, Ph.D.
Pain Substance Use Disorders and Suicide: Epidemiology, Assessment and Risk Mitigation
10:45 am - 12:15 pm Frank Campbell, , Ph.D., LCSW
An Approach to Treating Complicated Bereavement
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm Networking Lunch
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm Breakout Sessions
- Dr. Martin Cheatle, Ph.D. - Reducing the Risk of Suicide in Patients with Chronic Pain by Managing Common Comorbiditie
- Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon - Postvention for our First Responders: Finding Wellness After Trauma
- Isaac Akapnitis, LMSW & Ann Maxwell, LMSW - Suicide prevention through strengths building: A tri-level approach for the LGBTQ community
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Breakout Sessions
- William Beverly, Ph.D., LMFT, CCHP - Eating Disorders and Suicide Prevention
- LorenAshley Buford - Safe messaging for Native populations incorporating Native traditions and beliefs
- Nikki Kontz, LMSW - The Saga Continues: 13 Reasons Why Two
Thursday: October 25
7:30 AM Registration Opens
8:00 AM Breakfast
8:30 am - 8:45 am Nikki Kontz, LMSW, AZSPC Board President - Welcome
8:45 am - 10:15 am Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW
The Power of Six: Suicide Prevention from Cells to the Cloud
10:15 am – 10:30 am Break
10:30 am - 12:00 pm Michelle L. Rusk, Ph.D.
The Rearview Mirror: Twenty-five Years Later
12:00 pm – 1:15 pm Networking Lunch
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm Breakout Sessions
- Michelle L. Rusk, Ph.D. - Forging a Path to the Future: Setting Goals and Finding Focus
- Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW - Attachment-Based Family Therapy for Depressed and Suicidal Adolescents
- Michael Rhinehart & Michele Russell - The Importance of Supports in Suicide Prevention
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Breakout sessions
- Kelly Anne Wilde & Emily Laflamme - Be Connected: Suicide Prevention for Arizona's Service Members, Veterans and their Families
- Brad Snyder - Insights From Youth on Bullying, Suicide and Substance Abuse
- David McIntyre, Ph.D., ABPP & Anjanette McIntyre - Self Care for Providers
Session Descriptions
In order of the above schedule:
9:00 am - 10:30 am Martin D. Cheatle, Ph.D.
Pain Substance Use Disorders and Suicide: Epidemiology, Assessment and Risk Mitigation
Death by suicide has become a global epidemic. Every 40 seconds someone in the world dies of suicide. An estimated 804,000 suicide deaths occurred worldwide in 2012. Individuals with chronic pain commonly have significant concomitant psychiatric and medical disorders placing them at higher risk for suicide. One recent systematic review revealed that the risk of successful suicide was doubled in patients with chronic pain as compared to non-pain controls. Individuals with substance use disorders are also highly susceptible to engaging in suicidal ideation and behavior. Patients with an alcohol use disorder are 10 times more likely to engage in suicidal behavior and individuals with a injection drug use disorder are 14 times more likely to commit suicide as compared to the general population. The individual who suffers from both pain and a substance use disorder are particularly vulnerable to ending their life by suicide. This presentation will review the current literature on the epidemiology of suicidal ideation in the pain and substance use disorder populations and discuss assessing suicide risk in this population and identifying modifiable mediators of pain, substance use disorder and suicide.
10:45 am - 12:15 pm Frank Campbell, , Ph.D., LCSW
An Approach to Treating Complicated Bereavement
Early in my career I met individuals and families who had experienced loss from profound and complicated causes of deaths including suicide, homicide, accidental and ambiguous losses. Most of them had already tried to get help from one or more grief support resources in the community including clinicians and religious leaders without success. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is both certified as a Thanatologist and has consulted internationally as a Forensic Suicidologist, I was concerned for the lack of understanding these clients were experiencing from those resources wanting to help. In this workshop I will share an overview of what has helped clients, both in the United States and internationally to heal from that universal experience we currently refer to as sudden and traumatic loss or complicated bereavement. This could help you decide if your therapeutic toolkit has the essential clinical strategies that will guide you and your clients safely through a journey of complicated grief.
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm Breakout Sessions
Thursday: October 25
8:45 am - 10:15 am Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW
The Power of Six: Suicide Prevention from Cells to the Cloud
In 1977, IBM dazzled the world with an educational film called "Powers of Ten" that showed how the perspective on the world changes as you move in or out by a magnitude of 10. "The Power of Six" brings you insights in suicide prevention from the cellular, individual, family, community, state and technological (aka "cloud") levels. Engaging and inspiring stories will illustrate empirically-informed findings about how to best help suicidal youth, their families and communities. The stories will be accompanied by TED-style graphics, and possibly a video clip or two
10:30 am - 12:00 pm Michelle L. Rusk, Ph.D.
The Rearview Mirror: Twenty-five Years Later
For a series of years after the death of her younger sister to suicide, Michelle Rusk (then known as Michelle Linn-Gust) did everything she could to educate people not just about loss or suicide loss but also about sibling suicide loss. She traveled the world, found herself working with people of all cultures, earned a doctorate in family studies, wrote multiple books on coping with suicide, and became president of the American Association of Suicidology.
However, she realized that the journey had to change and she found her focus shifting back to the life she shared with her sister, the childhood filled with goals that Michelle had. The dreams that Denise knew she wanted to accomplish. Today Michelle speaks about the journey back to the dreams, what they are, and where she’s at as she continues to educate people not as the bereaved sibling she once identified herself as but instead as someone who wants to make the most of each day of her life.
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm Breakout Sessions
9:00 am - 10:30 am Martin D. Cheatle, Ph.D.
Pain Substance Use Disorders and Suicide: Epidemiology, Assessment and Risk Mitigation
Death by suicide has become a global epidemic. Every 40 seconds someone in the world dies of suicide. An estimated 804,000 suicide deaths occurred worldwide in 2012. Individuals with chronic pain commonly have significant concomitant psychiatric and medical disorders placing them at higher risk for suicide. One recent systematic review revealed that the risk of successful suicide was doubled in patients with chronic pain as compared to non-pain controls. Individuals with substance use disorders are also highly susceptible to engaging in suicidal ideation and behavior. Patients with an alcohol use disorder are 10 times more likely to engage in suicidal behavior and individuals with a injection drug use disorder are 14 times more likely to commit suicide as compared to the general population. The individual who suffers from both pain and a substance use disorder are particularly vulnerable to ending their life by suicide. This presentation will review the current literature on the epidemiology of suicidal ideation in the pain and substance use disorder populations and discuss assessing suicide risk in this population and identifying modifiable mediators of pain, substance use disorder and suicide.
10:45 am - 12:15 pm Frank Campbell, , Ph.D., LCSW
An Approach to Treating Complicated Bereavement
Early in my career I met individuals and families who had experienced loss from profound and complicated causes of deaths including suicide, homicide, accidental and ambiguous losses. Most of them had already tried to get help from one or more grief support resources in the community including clinicians and religious leaders without success. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is both certified as a Thanatologist and has consulted internationally as a Forensic Suicidologist, I was concerned for the lack of understanding these clients were experiencing from those resources wanting to help. In this workshop I will share an overview of what has helped clients, both in the United States and internationally to heal from that universal experience we currently refer to as sudden and traumatic loss or complicated bereavement. This could help you decide if your therapeutic toolkit has the essential clinical strategies that will guide you and your clients safely through a journey of complicated grief.
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm Breakout Sessions
- Dr. Martin Cheatle, Ph.D.
Reducing the Risk of Suicide in Patients with Chronic Pain by Managing Common Comorbiditie
Individuals suffering from chronic pain tend to present with multiple medical and psychiatric co-morbidities the most common being mood, anxiety and sleep disorders. All of these conditions can significantly impact function and quality of life and increase the risk for suicide. Large co-morbidity surveys have revealed that more individuals with chronic pain met diagnostic criteria for any mood (depression, dysthymia) or anxiety disorder (Generalized anxiety disorder, panic, agoraphobia, PTSD) as compared to the general population. Poorly managed mood and anxiety disorders can exacerbate the pain experience and lead to higher rates of disability. The majority of patients with chronic pain also experience persistent sleep disruption. Pain and sleep are bidirectional--pain leading to poorer quality of sleep and sleep disruption causing increased pain. Poor sleep quality can also contribute to the development of mood and anxiety disorders. This break out session will provide a review the current literature on the prevalence of common co-morbidities in patients with chronic pain, how each co-morbidity can increase the risk of suicide, models of the relationship between pain and co-morbidities, assessment strategies and pharmacologic and novel non-pharmacologic interventions. - Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon
Postvention for our First Responders: Finding Wellness After Trauma
In this workshop I will provide an overview of first responder trauma, its effects on the first responder and those closest to them, and how to provide postvention support after traumatic events. A variety of traumatic events will be covered to meet the needs of the backgrounds of the participants in attendance, including cumulative stress, compassion fatigue, sudden and traumatic deaths such as suicides, homicides, terrorist, natural disasters, and officer-involved deaths such as suicide-by-cop. Wellness techniques for the first responder will be discussed that can be helpful, including when it is appropriate to offer and provide those to a profession that has traditionally not been the most accepting of help, particular mental health assistance. - Isaac Akapnitis, LMSW & Ann Maxwell, LMSW
Suicide prevention through strengths building: A tri-level approach for the LGBTQ community
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) and questioning youth are at higher risk than their peers for suicide due to minority stress and discrimination around based on their sexual orientation and gender. By creating change on micro, mezzo and macro levels, we can support youth while helping them build up their internal strengths, and prevent suicide together.
- William Beverly, Ph.D., LMFT, CCHP
Eating Disorders and Suicide Prevention
Body image is a complex issue with behavioral and interpersonal consequences of body image concerns. Suicide is a major cause of death among those with anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder. Despite the tremendous pain they cause, eating disorders are treatable, and thoughts of suicide can be managed and overcome. This presentation describes the risk factors for suicide among people with an eating disorder or body image disturbance, including how to recognize the warning signs of suicidal intent in people with an eating disorder. This course is appropriate for anyone interested in learning more about suicide prevention and intervention among those struggling with these issues. - LorenAshley Buford
Safe messaging for Native populations incorporating Native traditions and beliefs
Through comparing intertribal cultural values found on the medicine wheel and correlating suicide prevention research, participants will gain a deeper understanding of creating meaningful community campaigns for native youth and their families. This strength based approach helps campaign builders address historical trauma and deep rooted unresolved grief risk factors, while producing culturally competent campaigns that addresses specific protective factors which resonate with AI/AN populations. Participants will review the "Dos and Donts" of creating safe Suicide Prevention messaging while examining successful native youth campaigns. - Nikki Kontz, LMSW
The Saga Continues: 13 Reasons Why Two
The realistic portrayal of mental illness in television and movies can be an effective way to reduce stigma around psychiatric issues. But it can be troubling if those portrayals do not show options for treatment. The Netflix show, 13 Reasons Why, has a large following on social media and has garnered media attention for its stark depictions of bullying, graphic sexual assault, underage drinking, self-injury and suicide. Many experts have come forward expressing concern about how this show portrays suicide specifically. While those concerns are valid, this cautionary tale may also provide an opportunity to open up communication, change opportunities for our communities and learning opportunities for both teens and adults. That leaves many of us to question, what should you do when faced with issues of bullying, depression, sexual assault, trauma and suicide? Seeing these issues in pop culture can help to reduce stigma and shame around mental health. This workshop will aim to delve in to both the dangers and the opportunities both seasons provide as well as how to use them to open up dialog with teens, identify youth at-risk for suicide, find opportunities for growth and even opportunities to build resiliency within our youth. Attendees will also be provided with information on resources available to both them and the youth they serve.
Thursday: October 25
8:45 am - 10:15 am Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW
The Power of Six: Suicide Prevention from Cells to the Cloud
In 1977, IBM dazzled the world with an educational film called "Powers of Ten" that showed how the perspective on the world changes as you move in or out by a magnitude of 10. "The Power of Six" brings you insights in suicide prevention from the cellular, individual, family, community, state and technological (aka "cloud") levels. Engaging and inspiring stories will illustrate empirically-informed findings about how to best help suicidal youth, their families and communities. The stories will be accompanied by TED-style graphics, and possibly a video clip or two
10:30 am - 12:00 pm Michelle L. Rusk, Ph.D.
The Rearview Mirror: Twenty-five Years Later
For a series of years after the death of her younger sister to suicide, Michelle Rusk (then known as Michelle Linn-Gust) did everything she could to educate people not just about loss or suicide loss but also about sibling suicide loss. She traveled the world, found herself working with people of all cultures, earned a doctorate in family studies, wrote multiple books on coping with suicide, and became president of the American Association of Suicidology.
However, she realized that the journey had to change and she found her focus shifting back to the life she shared with her sister, the childhood filled with goals that Michelle had. The dreams that Denise knew she wanted to accomplish. Today Michelle speaks about the journey back to the dreams, what they are, and where she’s at as she continues to educate people not as the bereaved sibling she once identified herself as but instead as someone who wants to make the most of each day of her life.
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm Breakout Sessions
- Michelle L. Rusk, Ph.D.
Forging a Path to the Future: Setting Goals and Finding Focus
One of the most challenging aspects of coping with grief is figuring out how to move forward. The path isn’t always clear cut or obvious. In this workshop, the participants will spend time discussing what they would like to do in the future and how they will get there, using some of the time to create vision boards that they can take home with them as a road map to a hopeful future. - Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW
Attachment-Based Family Therapy for Depressed and Suicidal Adolescents
Attachment-Based Family Therapy is the first family-based designed to reduce suicide ideation and depression in youth. Although a process-oriented therapy, ABFT offers a clear structure and road map to help therapists quickly address attachment ruptures that lie at the core of family conflict. Several clinical trials and process studies have demonstrated empirical support for the model and its proposed mechanism of change in reducing suicide ideation and depression in youth. The workshop will demonstrate how the model integrates attachment theory, family systems theory, and suicide intervention in both theory and practice. - Michael Rhinehart & Michele Russell
The Importance of Supports in Suicide Prevention
EMPACT-SPC has been responding to crisis calls since 1987 and currently responds to approximately 700-900 crisis calls every month. Approximately 75% of those crisis calls are stabilized in the community. How is this possible? This workshop will discuss how to engage someone who is contemplating suicide, assessing risk, the importance of connection and facilitating hope as well as method and strategies to identify and engage supports.
- Kelly Anne Wilde & Emily Laflamme
Be Connected: Suicide Prevention for Arizona's Service Members, Veterans and their Families
This presentation will review the key components of Arizona’s Be Connected program with a particular emphasis on 1) program components, 2) crisis intervention strategies and available resources on the Military/Veteran Resource Network, and 3) military culture, structure, and terminology training. - Brad Snyder
Insights From Youth on Bullying, Suicide and Substance Abuse
From - HEAAL 2018 "Black on Black Talk" Series - Speaking Up, Speaking Out: A Black and Brown Conversation on Bullying II: A Conversation on Bullying includes an overview and definition of bullying, moderated Youth (teen) Panel, first hand dialogue on bullying and it's affects on suicide, Q&A period, summary, and next steps. Learn how our youth view bullying as it pertains to suicide and how they manage. Discuss protective factors and next steps that promote safe youth environments. - David McIntyre, Ph.D., ABPP & Anjanette McIntyre
Self Care for Providers
The co-presenter (Anjanette McIntyre) and I will present and demonstrate tools the participants can use to improve their psychological and physical wellness. Dr. Dave McIntyre will present 6 tools related to the mind and Anjanette McIntyre will present 6 tools related to physical health. The presentation will be a lively back and forth interaction focusing on how providers can better care for themselves so they will be better able to care for their clients, family and themselves.