2 Hours / 2 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Child and Adolescent Suicide: Prevention, Crisis Management, and Postvention is presented by David Capuzzi, PhD.

According to the American Association of Suicidology and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the adolescent age group is now at the highest risk of suicide in one-third of all countries.

This program addresses the significant concerns of suicide and adolescent and teen suicide prevention. The program also provides the training needed by counselors, social workers, and other helping professionals to effectively assist those at risk of attempting suicide. 

It includes myths connected with suicide, risk and protective factors for suicide; signs and symptoms, suicidal assessment; ethical and legal issues surrounding suicide; and counseling techniques with children, adolescents, survivors, and their families. 

This program includes risk factors for what leads to teenage suicide. Guidelines for children, adolescent and teen prevention, crisis management, and postvention are all presented. 

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe explicit guidelines for prevention, crisis management, and postvention (follow-up) after an attempt or completion and how and when to apply them with clients
  • 2 Describe awareness of the myths connected with youth suicide
  • 3 Describe risk and protective factors connected with youth suicide prevention
  • 4 Describe the components of the suicidal profile

  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for professionals dedicated to preventing and responding to adolescent and teen suicide, with a focus on those specializing in counseling, mental health, crisis intervention, and youth-focused therapeutic services. It is particularly relevant for individuals who provide support, assessment, and intervention for children, adolescents, and their families at risk for suicide.

    Examples of Relevant Professionals:

    • Mental Health Professionals
    • School counselors
    • Mental health counselors
    • Crisis intervention specialists
    • Youth and family therapists
    • Social workers in youth services
    • Community organization staff working with adolescents
    • Professionals in counseling centers and mental health clinics

  • Experience Level

    This training is designed for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at various stages of experience in suicide prevention with adolescents and teens.


    • Beginner: Participants new to suicide prevention or early in their careers who seek foundational knowledge about myths, risk and protective factors, and basic assessment and intervention strategies for youth suicide.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience in suicide prevention who are looking to deepen their understanding of ethical and legal considerations, refine their assessment skills, and apply explicit guidelines for prevention, crisis management, and postvention with children, adolescents, and families.

    • Advanced: Participants with extensive experience in suicide prevention who wish to enhance their expertise in complex case management, advanced intervention techniques, and leadership in program development and supervision related to youth suicide prevention.

  • Practice Setting

    Professionals apply these skills in outpatient and inpatient behavioral health, community-based and crisis-response environments, and integrated care systems serving children, adolescents, and families. Work is team-oriented, trauma-informed, and spans in-person and telehealth modalities across urban, suburban, and rural contexts.

    Examples of Practice Settings:

    • School-based counseling programs
    • Outpatient counseling centers and mental health clinics
    • Hospital behavioral health units and emergency departments
    • Mobile crisis teams and crisis hotlines/centers
    • Community youth organizations and family service agencies
    • Residential treatment programs and group homes
    • Juvenile justice and probation services
    • Youth shelters, drop-in centers, and telehealth platforms
Presented By

David Capuzzi, PhD

David Capuzzi, PhD, NCC, LPC, is a faculty emeritus of Walden and professor emeritus of Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. Previously, he served as an affiliate professor in the Department of Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services at Pennsylvania State University and Scholar in Residence in Counselor Education at Johns Hopkins University. He is past president of the American Counseling Association (ACA), formerly the American Association for Counseling and Development, and past Chair of both the ACA Foundation and the ACA Insurance Trust.

From 1980 to 1984, Dr. Capuzzi was editor of The School Counselor. He has authored several textbook chapters and monographs on the topic of preventing adolescent suicide and is coeditor and author with Dr. Larry Golden of Helping Families Help Children: Family Interventions with School Related Problems (1986) and Preventing Adolescent Suicide (1988). He coauthored and edited with Douglas R. Gross Youth at Risk: A Prevention Resource for Counselors, Teachers, and Parents (1989, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2014, and 2019); Introduction to the Counseling Profession (1991, 1995,1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017); Introduction to Group Work (1992, 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010); Counseling and Psychotherapy: Theories and Interventions (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011).

In addition to Foundations of Addictions Counseling (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)  and Foundations of Group Counseling (2019) published by Pearson with Dr. Stauffer, he and Dr. Stauffer have published); Career Counseling: Foundations, Perspectives, and Applications (2006, 2012, 2019), Foundations of Couples, Marriage and Family Counseling (2015, 2021), Human Growth and Development Across the Life Span: Applications for Counselors (2016) and Counseling and Psychotherapy: Theories and Interventions (2016, 2022). 

Other texts are Approaches to Group Work: A Handbook for Practitioners (2003), Suicide across the Life Span (2006), and Sexuality Issues in Counseling, the last coauthored and edited with Larry Burlew. He has authored or coauthored articles in a number of ACA-related journals.

A frequent speaker and keynoter at professional conferences and institutes, Dr. Capuzzi has also consulted with a variety of school districts and community agencies interested in initiating prevention and intervention strategies for adolescents at risk for suicide. He has facilitated the development of suicide prevention, crisis management, and postvention programs in communities throughout the United States; provides training on the topics of youth at risk and grief and loss; and serves as an invited adjunct faculty member at other universities as time permits. 

An ACA fellow, he is the first recipient of ACA’s Kitty Cole Human Rights Award and also a recipient of the Leona Tyler Award in Oregon. In 2010, he received ACA’s Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person. In 2011, he was named a Distinguished Alumni of the College of Education at Florida State University and, in 2016, he received the Locke/Paisley Mentorship award from the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. In 2018 he received the Mary Smith Arnold Anti-Oppression Award from the Counselors for Social Justice, a division of ACA as well as the U.S. President’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the 2019 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. 

One of Dr. Capuzzi’s most recent contributions to the profession was a webinar series titled Leading Lights in Counseling developed for Walden University in 2021. This series featured prominent scholars and practitioners who addressed pertinent issues and topics that impact the role of the counselor and other helping professionals. He facilitated a similar series titled Innovative Concepts and Practices for Counselors and Mental Health Professionals for Palo Alto University in 2022-23. 

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).


Sponsorship Approval Statements

Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7190. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Palo Alto University, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Palo Alto University maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits. Continuing and Professional Studies, Palo Alto University, is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0103. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies, is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073.