Speakers for 9/27

Dr. Marisa Marraccini

Supporting Adolescent Recovery from a Suicide-Related Crisis as They Return to School Settings

The immediate period following psychiatric hospitalization for a suicide-related crisis is marked by increased risk for suicide-related behaviors and re-hospitalization. Schools are a primary environment adolescents return to following hospital discharge, making them an important context for supporting adolescent recovery. Based on findings from our ongoing research that is developing school reintegration guidelines, this presentation identifies considerations for returning students across a continuum of services. Considerations include: (1) school supports and services to cultivate a positive psychosocial climate and address the needs of returning students; (2) hospital approaches that integrate consideration of school context into treatment planning and school reintegration into discharge planning; and (3) enhanced communication between settings (e.g., hospitals, schools) and families to improve school reintegration experiences following psychiatric hospitalization. Ultimately, school re-entry plans should be tailored to the unique needs of the returning student and their school.

(CEU Presentation)

Dr. Emily Fortney

Suicide Risk During the Perinatal Period

Pregnancy-related suicides occur in 1.6 to 4.5 per 100,000 births across the United States. Although the perinatal period for childbearing persons includes a high number of healthcare provider visits, maternal suicide risk in the postpartum/perinatal period continues to increase, especially in the Black community. This presentation will discuss the current maternal mortality rates, identifying risk factors, the critical importance of early intervention, and cultural considerations. Lastly, we will explore concrete ways in which one can assess for suicidal risk during the perinatal period.

(CEU Presentation)

Dr. Michael Anthony Lindsey

Suffering in Silence: Signs of Suicidal Behavior in Black Youth

For Blacks, stigma regarding mental health challenges and a common belief that Blacks don’t die by suicide, add complexity to the challenge of saving lives. Sadly, the suicide death rate among Black youth has been found to be increasing faster than any other racial or ethnic group. Black adolescents are significantly less likely to receive care for depression with pervasive structural inequities, social determinants of health, stigma and mistrust of the healthcare system creating daunting barriers to treatment. In this presentation, Dr. Lindsey will discuss signs and symptoms of depression, suicide and anxiety in Black children. He will also explore the importance of access to care, as well as preventive measures and policy.

(CEU Presentation)

Tunja L Morton, Ed.S., NBCT

Nothing Runs on Empty

Are you ready to strengthen your emotional immune system, find fulfillment in your daily roles and responsibilities and return home to your S.E.L.F. replenished? Then, you do not want to miss. Self-Care Development Coach, Tunja Morton’s session: Nothing Runs on Empty. Within the framework of this professional development session, Tunja provides the guidance and direction participants need to reconnect with their core values, redefine self-care and identify sustainable practices that promote mental and emotional renewal – a renewal that lingers at work and in life. The tools and strategies Tunja shares in this session will leave listeners inspired to prioritize their own care.

(CEU Presentation)

Skip Simpson

Avoiding the Malpractice Snare

This presentation will cover areas which are most often the source of law suits against mental health providers focusing on the failure to protect patients at risk for suicide. It will demonstrate what a seasoned trial attorney evaluates when reviewing a case for potential litigation. Hopefully it will take the fear from lawsuits out of practicing mental health.

(CEU Presentation)

Speakers for 9/28

Teresa Mosley

Surviving the Journey

In September of 2003, I began a journey with my daughter, Elisabeth. A journey that I thought I would make it through with support and patience. Little did I know that it would become a lifelong journey of grief. This grief has driven me to share my journey with others. Travel with me as I tell Elisabeth’s story, including things I continue to learn about mental illness, suicide awareness, suicide prevention, grief, family impact, coping skills and most importantly how to navigate this journey.

(NOT a CEU Presentation)

Melody Lanke

Grieving After the Loss of a Child to Suicide

Vice President, Mississippi Alliance to End Suicide

Survivor of Suicide Loss

Losing a child to suicide was our greatest tragedy and was beyond what we could ever have imagined. As a survivor of suicide loss our greatest challenge is surviving while maneuvering through the complicated grief emotions of losing a child to suicide. C. L. Lewis, states, “The greater the love the greater the grief”. The love for one’s child is one of the greatest loves in our lives. Learning to reach out to others who have lost loved ones to suicide and embracing both the joy and pain of our grief may be the coping mechanism of our survival.

(NOT a CEU Presentation)

Vickie Winslett

Grieving After Suicide Loss

President, Mississippi Alliance to End Suicide

Survivor of Suicide Loss

Grieving after losing a loved one to suicide is a journey of learning to heal, to cope and to embrace hope. None is us have the ‘right’ way. We will go through many different stages of grief and repeat many of the same emotions over and over. The more we talk and share our feelings the more we are comforted by knowing we are not alone in having these emotional highs and lows. Embracing the loss of our loved one will always be with us. Life will move around us, and we will start to embrace life also.

(NOT a CEU Presentation)

The Alliance Project - Suicide Prevention Training Presentation

The Alliance Project is a suicide prevention training that was designed due to sustainability concerns regarding costs, skill retention and utilization, and to engage individuals in more active learning strategies to improve gatekeeper skill development. Participants will learn the 5 steps to helping someone in distress while also utilizing these skills actively to become more comfortable applying these skills when needed throughout their life. The training curriculum is for individuals with and without mental health training. For more information about free trainings please visit www.msualliance.com

(CEU Presentation)

The Alliance Project - Suicide Postvention Training Presentation

This presentation reviews the fundamentals of postvention services when responding to deaths by suicide within community settings. The training reviews the purpose and description of postvention services, how to assist and build an effective postvention plan, implementing the crisis response plan after a death by suicide, the individual roles of each team member, and postvention services best practices. For more information about free trainings please visit www.msualliance.com

(CEU Presentation)