Youth Suicide Prevention and Intervention Best Practices and Policy Implications (7 credit hours)

Program Summary:  This course examines youth suicide prevention and intervention in five parts:  1.  Foundations of Youth Suicide Prevention 2. Suicide Prevention and Postvention in School Settings 3. Suicide Specific Interventions 4. Cultural Considerations and Specific Populations and 5. Improving Quality of Suicide Care Across Systems.  The course explores trends and research and offers strategies for prevention, early identification, and response.  Suicide screening, safety planning, lethal means counseling, hotlines, and best practices are discussed.  Cultural considerations highlight specific populations that include Black youth, LGBTQIA+ youth, youth with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disorders, American Indian and Alaska Native youth, and considerations for rural communities.  Views from lived experience are shared.

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  

Reading :  Youth Suicide Prevention and Intervention Best Practices and Policy Implications Editors: John P. Ackerman, Center for Suicide Prevention and Research and Lisa M. Horowitz, NIMH  Publisher: Springer Briefs in Psychology; Advances in Child and Family Policy and Practice

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Course Objectives:  To enhance professional practice, values, skills and knowledge by exploring youth suicide prevention and intervention.

Learning Objectives:  Identify recommendations and best practices for youth suicide prevention, early identification, and response.  Describe suicide specific interventions.  Describe cultural considerations that impact risk and protective factors.

Course Available Until: August 31, 2027.

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1: Chapter 1//  ___________ youth in the US have the highest rates of suicide (CDC, 2020).
 
 
 
 
 
2: The most common suicide method among US youth aged 10-19 years has historically been by _________ (CDC, 2020).
 
 
 
 
3: Previous suicidal behavior is one of the most significant predictors of a future suicide attempt.
 
 
4: Chapter 2//  The human brain does not fully mature until around age
 
 
 
 
5: The adolescent brain is 'wired' for
 
 
 
 
6: Chapter 3//  The goal of building and implementing youth suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) prediction models is
 
 
7: Chapter 4//  Asking students about suicidal thoughts causes harm such as increased suicidal ideation or behavior.
 
 
8: Safety planning is a key aspect of __________.
 
 
 
9: Chapter 5//  Effective school-based suicide prevention programs
 
 
 
 
 
10: Chapter 6// Adolescent suicide bereavement is unique in that aspects of this developmental stage, such as ___________, may intersect with the grieving process.
 
 
 
 
11: Chapter 7// Of note, death registry studies show that ________ of adolescents who die by suicide visited a healthcare setting in the months or even weeks prior to their death.
 
 
 
 
12: The Joint Commission urges medical settings to screen ____________ for suicide risk using brief, evidence-based screening tools (TJC, 2016).
 
 
 
 
13: One of the most effective ways to keep a young person from killing themselves is by asking them directly, "Are you thinking of killing yourself?", and then listening empathetically, and responding supportively.
 
 
14: Chapter 8// SAFETY-A focuses on
 
 
 
 
15: Chapter 9//  There is a growing body of research to suggest that most suicidal crises (i.e., the period of time in which someone seriously contemplates killing themselves) are relatively
 
 
16: 24% of those aged 13-34 made a near lethal attempt after _________ minutes of deliberation (Simon et al., 2001).
 
 
 
 
17: Studies have documented that youth who live in homes with firearms have up to a __________ increased risk of suicide, even if they are not the owner of the firearm.
 
 
 
 
18: Which of the following is an important consideration for safety planning/lethal means counseling?
 
 
 
 
19: When developing a safety plan with youth clients, only adult contacts should be listed as people the youth can turn to for help in a crisis.
 
 
20: Chapter 10// As of July 16, 2022, ________ is designated as the dialing code for the Lifeline allowing everyone in the US to quickly access the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
 
 
 
 
21: Chapter 11//  Which of the following describes the messages of approval or acceptability supported by one's culture?
 
 
 
 
22: Which of the following describes the elevated stress levels stemming from experiences of discrimination and social inequities for youth of minority status?
 
 
 
 
23: Chapter 12//  The limited data we have suggest Black children experience __________ suicide risk compared to the general population.
 
 
24: Research studies can assume that prior work done with primarily White middle-class youth will generalize to Black youth.
 
 
25: Which of the following are possible protective factors that can be incorporated into safety planning for Black youth?
 
 
 
 
26: Black clinicians and academics are _______ represented in the workforce.
 
 
27: Chapter 13// Which of the following describes the process by which some LGBTQIA+ people internally adopt the societal norm, and in turn, absorb negative stereotypes and assumptions about themselves?
 
 
 
 
28: Support from _____________ is protective for LGBTQIA+ individuals (Puckett et al., 2019) and may play a key role in reducing SITB risk.
 
 
 
 
29: Interventions leveraging LGBTQIA+ affirming principles can effectively reduce internalized stigma and psychopathology.
 
 
30: Chapter 14//  Baer et al. (2020) reported that ___________ of parents registered with the Interactive Autism Network noted that their child or dependent adult (25 years or younger) had displayed suicidal behaviors.
 
 
 
 
31: Furthermore, the most commonly reported age of onset for both passive and active suicidal ideation was ________ years old or younger.
 
 
 
 
32: Intellectual disability, which often accompanies ASD, has a protective effect against suicide.
 
 
33: Figure 14.1 shows examples of a safety plan utilizing
 
 
 
 
34: Chapter 15//  Which of the following does NOT describe one of the seven elements essential to Zero Suicide implementation?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
35: Chapter 16/  __________ communities have some of the highest suicide rates among youth.
 
 
 
 
 
36: Underserved communities are shifting to a ___________- based approach to suicide prevention (Tingey et al., 2016; Yuan et al., 2015).
 
 
 
 
37: The ______________ has developed an innovative and effective system that mandates any person who lives or works on the reservation to report any suicide-related incident to a central task force called Celebrating Life.
 
 
 
 
38: Chapter 17//  Between 1999 and 2019, the leading mechanism of suicide for US rural youth aged 10-19 was
 
 
 
 
39: Which of the following are barriers to effective suicide prevention in rural communities?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
40: Chapter 18// Rowan describes his lived experiences and how his disclosure of suicidal ideation was met with
 
 
 
 

In order to purchase or take this course, you will need to log in. If you do not have an account, you will need to register for a free account.

After you log in, a link will appear here that will allow you to purchase this course.

Review our pre-reading study guide.

G.M. Rydberg-Cox, MSW, LSCSW is the Continuing Education Director at Free State Social Work and responsible for the development of this course.  She received her Masters of Social Work in 1996 from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois-Chicago and she has over 20 years of experience.  She has lived and worked as a social worker in Chicago, Boston, and Kansas City.  She has practiced for many years in the area of hospital/medical social work.  The reading materials for this course were developed by another organization.

Course Available Until: August 31, 2027.
Filed under: Children, Clinical, Suicide Prevention