10 Hours | 10 CEs

This self-paced training program on Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention for a Diverse Population is presented by Bruce Bonger, PhD, ABPP; Joyce Chu, PhD; Peter Goldblum, PhD, MPH and Christoper Weaver, PhD

Though almost all mental health professionals encounter suicide risk within their practices, formal training on suicide risk assessment and intervention is sparse. This training focuses on the current gold standards for practice in suicide management. A usable framework and accessible guidelines will ensure that participants are able to competently manage suicide risk in their practice, incorporating the latest standards in suicide science. Course content includes skills in conceptualizing dynamic versus static suicide risk factors, legal and ethical considerations, documentation, and other considerations.

While most health and behavioral health professionals have been trained to manage suicide with similar strategies and guidelines regardless of cultural identity or background, studies have long shown that suicide looks and develops differently in LGBTQ and ethnic minority groups. Through this training, participants will also learn how to incorporate cultural considerations and manage suicide in culturally diverse populations. This training provides a foundational understanding of how suicide differs across cultural groups and covers advances in the culturally competent assessment and management of suicide. Participants will learn state-of-science theoretical, measurement, and applied research, as practical approaches to assist clinicians in accounting for cultural influences on suicide risk among diverse populations. The course utilizes didactic presentation infused with clinical discussion and case practice.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course you will be able to:

  • Describe six key steps of suicide risk assessment and management

  • Describe clinical inquiry about suicidal ideation, behaviors, and risk to individual client needs

  • Describe dynamic versus static risk factors

  • Describe important clinical and legal documentation considerations involved in suicide risk management

  • Describe the latest research on cultural differences in suicide, and culturally competent assessment and prevention of suicide among ethnic minority and LGBTQ populations

  • Describe predominant barriers to training and practice in culturally competent suicide assessment and practice

  • Describe a guiding framework and assessment tools/approaches that advance culturally competent suicide practice with diverse populations

  • Describe a suicide risk case conceptualization and intervention plan

Presented By

Calvin Distinguished Professor of Psychology Palo Alto University Bruce Bongar, Ph.D., ABPP

Dr. Bruce Bongar, Ph.D., ABPP, FAPM, received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and served his internship in clinical community psychology with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. For over 25 years, Dr. Bongar maintained a small practice specializing in psychotherapy, consultation and supervision in working with the difficult and life-threatening patient. Past clinical appointments include service as a senior clinical psychologist with the Division of Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and work as a clinical/community mental health psychologist on the psychiatric emergency team of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Dr. Bongar is past president of the Section on Clinical Crises and Emergencies of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association, a diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology, a fellow of the Divisions of Clinical Psychology (Div 12), Psychology and the Law (Div 41), and Psychotherapy (Div 29) of the American Psychological Association, a fellow of the American Psychological Society and of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, and a chartered psychologist of the British Psychological Society. Dr. Bongar has also been a winner of the Edwin Shneidman Award from the American Association of Suicidology for outstanding early career contributions to suicide research, and the Louis I. Dublin award for lifetime achievement in research on suicidology. In 2008, he was awarded the Florence Halpern award by the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association for distinguished contributions to the practice of clinical psychology. Since 2001, he has also become interested in the psychology of mass casualty events and suicide terrorism. From 2002-2005, he was the founding director of the National Center on Psychology of Terrorism. His research and published work reflects his long-standing interest in the wide-ranging complexities of therapeutic interventions with difficult patients in general, and in suicide and life-threatening behaviors in particular.

Joyce Chu, PhD

Dr. Joyce Chu is an Associate Professor at Palo Alto University. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in psychology at Stanford University, her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan, and did a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Chu co-leads the Multicultural Suicide and Ethnic Minority Mental Health Research Groups at PAU, and is also Director of the Diversity and Community Mental Health (DCMH) emphasis which trains future psychologists to work with underserved populations in the public mental health sector.

Director of the Forensic Psychology Emphasis at Palo Alto University Christopher M. Weaver, PhD

Dr. Christopher Weaver is an Associate Professor at Palo Alto University, and Director of PAU’s Forensic Psychology Program. Dr. Weaver received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Louisville, and has held research and clinical positions (pre- and postdoctoral) at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University. He has published in the areas of psychopathy and violence risk assessment, and more recently in the areas of substance abuse and psychological trauma. His publications also include co-authored books in law & mental health and psychopathology. Dr. Weaver’s current research focuses on the role that trauma and substance use play in criminal offending, the assessment of dissimulation in PTSD assessment. He is also conducting a funded training and research program designed to increase police officer effectiveness in working with people with mental illness.
  • Intended Audience

    This self-paced course is intended for mental health and other allied professionals.

  • Experience Level

    This self-paced course is appropriate for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level clinicians.

  • CE / CPD Credit

    APA, ASWB, CPA, NBCC Click here for state and other regional board approvals.

Curriculum

    1. Review Before Proceeding

    1. Lesson 1 Video

    2. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 2 Video

    2. Effects of Training

    3. SAFE-S

    4. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 3 Video

    2. Base Rates of Firearm Possession

    3. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 4 Video

    2. Clinical inquiry

    1. Lesson 5 Video

    2. Weaver Suicide Risk

    3. Effects

    4. Lesson Quiz

About this course

  • $250.00
  • 36 lessons
  • 5.5 hours of video content

Develop a Specialty Area of Practice

Transforming mental health professionals into experts

  • Expert Instructors

    Professional training developed and delivered by the field's leading experts

  • CE Credit

    Earn CE credit for meaningful professional training that will elevate your practice

  • Convenience & Flexibility

    Learn at your own pace, from wherever you might be!

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