Title: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: An Introduction

Presenters: John P. Duggan, EdD and James Wright

Description: Effective as of July 16, 2022, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is the national network of local crisis centers that will provide confidential emotional support to individuals experiencing a suicidal crisis or emotional distress. The 998 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a national network of over 200 local crisis centers to include services in one’s local community and resources that meet national standards and best practices (The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 2022). This CE provides professional counselors with an overview of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Dr. John Duggan from the Center for Counseling Practice, Policy, and Research at the American Counseling Association, interviews James Wright, LPC, Chief of Crisis Center Operations at the SAMSHA Office of the Assistant Secretary, to discuss the 988 Lifeline.

Title: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Counseling Educators and Counseling Students

Presenters: Gregg Elliott, PhD and Janessa Henninger, PhD

Description: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Counselor Educators and Counseling Students (Elliott & Henninger, 2022) address counselor educators in training student counselors for effective suicide interventions. This Continuing Professional Development resource provides counselors with a rationale to recognize and understand the pedagogical challenges, opportunities, and practices on educating student counselors for working with clients at risk of suicide, explain the multicultural, ethical, and legal issues and implications to teaching about and working with clients at risk of suicide, and describe the roles of counselor practitioners and educators in training and educating student counselors and the community at large.

Title: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Cultural Considerations for LGBTQ+ Youth

Presenters: John P. Duggan, EdD and Preston Mitchum, ESQ, LLM

Description: Cultural Considerations for LGBTQ+ Youth covers current cultural considerations for LGBTQ+ youth that relate to risk factors that are putting this community at a higher risk of suicide, as well as key protective factors that help to reduce suicide risk and improve the quality of life for LGBTQ+ youth. Included in this course is a special interview with Preston D. Mitchum, Esq., LLM., Director of Advocacy & Government Affairs at the Trevor Project. He reviews key findings from their 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, which includes results from responses provided by 34,000 LGBTQ youth (ages 13-24) across the United States. Also included in this course is Chapter One from the ACA Book, Group Counseling with LGBTQI Persons by Kristopher M. Goodrich and Melissa Luke, which covers the various identities within the diverse LGBTQI community and historical and societal considerations. Learners can find the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics here: https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/ethics#2014code

Title: Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide: School Engage

Authors: Kelly Wester, PhD, LPC, NCC; Carrie Morris, PhD; Emu Aragon, MS, LPCMHSP, NCC; and Christine McAllister

Description: Approximately 40,000 adolescents attempt suicide every year in the United States (Wester et al., 2024). Given the high prevalence of suicidal behavior among adolescents, including differences in suicidal behavior among racial/ethnic groups, and the need for clarity around the understanding of adolescent perceptions of social support or engagement from others at school, this study explores the relationship between high school student engagement, Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS), and suicidal behavior to provide guidance for counseling professionals to target prevention and intervention efforts to increase effectiveness (Wester et al.). Specifically, Wester et al. stated that this study would allow school counselors to examine the risk factors for suicidal behavior within specific identity groups in a high school setting.

Title: Law & Ethics: Suicide & Threats of Harm to Self

Presenters: Anne Marie “Nancy” Wheeler, JD and Aprille Woodson, PhD, JD, LPC, NCC

Description: Suicide and threats of harm to self are stressful issues in any counseling practice. This continuing education (CE) is based on Chapter 9, Suicide and Threats of Harm to Self, of the ACA book The Counselor and the Law: A Guide to Legal and Ethical Practice (8th ed.). Some of the ethical and legal issues relevant to threats of suicide and harm are explored and practical strategies are offered. Counselors who register for this CE will: (1) know counselors’ ethical and legal obligations when there is a possibility of a client’s suicide attempt, (2) explain and understand foreseeability of harm and duty to warn, and (3) describe the circumstances where it may be necessary to breach confidentiality.

Title: Suicide Assessment: A Strengths-Based Approach

Presenters: John Sommers-Flannagan, PhD; Rita Sommers-Flanagan, PhD; and Eddy Fagundo, PhD

Description: Engaging in suicide assessment with clients who are suicidal can feel daunting to counselors, and clients can feel threatened by the process (Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, 2021). Suicide Assessment: A Strengths-Based Approach (Sommers-Flanagan, 2022) presents a suicide assessment process and strategies that deepen the validity of the suicide assessment and supports empathy and relationship building. This Continuing Professional Development combines the recorded video with Dr. John Sommers-Flanagan and Chapter 3 (Suicide Assessment) of his book, Suicide Assessment and Treatment Planning: A Strengths-Based Approach (Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, 2021), and provides counselors with a rationale to: 1. Understand suicide assessment as therapeutic assessment, 2. Know skills and attitudes to be competent in the suicide assessment process, 3. Recognize suicide risk factors, protective factors, and warning signs, 4. Know how to ask about suicide ideation, suicide plans, previous attempts, 5. Describe strategy for responding to irritability, hostility, and hopelessness, 6. Explain collaborative problem-solving and safety planning for assessment, treatment, and decision-making,

Title: Suicide Risk Factors Among Older Adults: Implications for Counselors as Medicare Providers

Presenter: Mary Chase Mize PhD, LPC, ACS

Description: Based on the counseling dissertation by Dr. Mary Chase Mize, this study, grounded in the interpersonal theory of suicide, sought to understand the relationship between proximal (thwarted belongingness; TB, perceived burdensomeness; PB) and distal (chronic pain, loneliness, and perceived social support) risk factors among older adults who receive home delivered meals (HDM). Understanding relationships between proximal and distal suicide risk factors may inform interventions for counselors to address loneliness, enhance social support, and identify suicide risk among older adults.