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Area Mental Health Pros Attend Suicide Prevention Conference at Springfield College School of Social Work

Area mental health professionals and community activists gathered at the Springfield College School of Social Work on September 25, 2009, for a conference entitled “Best Practices in Suicide Prevention and Intervention: Community-Wide Interventions for Western Massachusetts.”

Alan Holmlund, director of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Health Suicide Prevention Programs, stated that, “Each year in Massachusetts, there are more suicides than homicides. In 2007, there were 504 reported suicides and 183 homicides.” He also reported that “thirteen percent of high school students in the Commonwealth seriously considered suicide during the past year, that eleven percent of high school students made a suicide plan, and eight percent attempted suicide.”

Two panels of combined mental health providers and peer-focused providers discussed the best ways to approach children and adults in crises. Recurring themes were communication, collaboration, natural supports, mentoring services, and peer supports. Many participants agreed that Massachusetts’ new Child Behavioral Health Initiative, implemented in June, will assist in providing the much-needed wraparound services that families require to navigate their mental health needs.

Internationally renowned speaker, Dr. Shawn Christopher Shea, presented insightful information to help practitioners improve their knowledge of how to discuss suicide with their clients, find ways to elicit information to better understand the real intentions of clients, and ultimately save lives. Shea, who is well-known in the mental health field for his best selling text, The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment and Psychiatric Interviewing: The Art of Understanding, is the director of the Training Institute for Suicide Assessment.

Since January 2007, the Springfield College School of Social Work and the Mass. Department of Public Health have been working together to improve the skills and knowledge of social work students and community professionals to prevent suicides. The school has received grants from the department, one of which supported the suicide prevention conference. According to Francine J. Vecchiolla, dean of the Springfield College School of Social Work, “Our faculty members Professor Joseph R. Gianesin and Associate Professor Walter Mullin have led the way in improving awareness of suicide in such a way as to truly impact lives.”

Shawn Christopher Shea is an internationally acclaimed innovator in the field of suicide prevention and clinical interviewing. He is the author of the best selling texts The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment and Psychiatric Interviewing: The Art of Understanding, among others. He is the director of the Training Institute for Suicide Assessment and Clinical Interviewing. He has been a recipient of the Outstanding Course Award presented by the American Psychiatric Association.