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Taking Action: Implementing the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention Conference

December 3 - 5, 2003
New Orleans, LA

Conference Agenda

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Day One: Arrival

5:30 - 6:30pm     Pre-Conference Reception
6:15 - 7:00pm     State Breakout Facilitators and State Leaders Training

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Day Two: Understanding Suicide: Preparing for Prevention

7:00 - 8:50am     Registration & Exhibits
7:30 - 8:45am     Breakfast Buffet
8:15am     State Breakfast Meetings
9:00am     Opening Plenary
Presentation of Memorial Quilts
9:15am     Welcome
Dr. Ronald Banks, Regional Health Administrator, Region VI
Ms. Clara H. Cobb, Deputy Regional Health Administrator, Region IV
Dr. Jimmy Guidry, State Health Officer/Medical Director, Louisiana

9:30am     Historical Perspectives - Reno to New Orleans
Mr. Charles Curie, Administrator, SAMHSA
Mr. Jerry Reed, Executive Director, SPAN USA
10:15am     Break
10:30am     Regional Data/Local Trends
John Hellsten, Ph.D.
11:15am     Public Health Approach: NSSP
Morton Silverman, M.D.
11:40am     Evidence-Based Practices for Suicide Prevention
Philip Rodgers, Ph.D.
12:00 - 1:15pm     Conference Luncheon Buffet
Luncheon Speaker: Iris Bolton

Accompanying Documents:
Asking the Question by Iris Bolton

Beyond Surviving by Iris Bolton

Grief and the Mourning Process by Iris Bolton

1:15 - 2:25pm     Breakout Session A

Surviving Suicide
How to establish and sustain a support group
Frank Campbell, Ph.D.
This workshop will draw on the more than fifteen years and approximately eight hundred group session facilitated by the presenter. It will include the research and information learned by working with survivors around the world who have been impacted by the suicide of one or more significant people in their life.
Presentation: How to Establish and Sustain a Support Group by Frank Campbell, Ph.D.

Community response: Effective action after a suicide
Frank Zenere, Ed.S.
Through a review of case history, the presenter will discuss lessons learned from responding to a community suicide cluster. Best practices approaches for responding to suicide within the community will be covered in detail.
Presentation: Community response: Effective action after a suicide by Frank Zenere, Ed.S., National Association of School Psychologists, National Emergency Assistance Team

Mental Health/Substance Abuse/Domestic Violence
Understanding links between suicide and mental health and substance abuse
Ken Conner, Psy.D.
This session will provide an overview of empirical data and theory pertaining to the association of alcohol and other substance use disorders to attempted and completed suicide. Presentation: Alcholism and Suicidal Behavior by Ken Conner, Psy.D.

Suicide Prevention Across the Life Course
Evidence-based practices for men in middle years
Kerry Knox, Ph.D.
Men in the middle years of life represent an under-recognized group that bears a considerably large public health burden due to suicide. The United States Air Force Suicide Prevention Program serves as an example of how prevention strategies can be directed toward this population.

Leadership and Collaboration Skill Building Workshops
Assessing the Problem, Capacity, and Resources...and Making Decisions
Patti Horgas, M.S.N., Ph.D.(c)
This course will be continued into Breakout Session B. It is an in-depth discussion and skill building learning opportunity, focusing on assessment and data-based decision making.

Understanding Cultural Contexts
Suicide prevention among Native Americans
Joyce Naseyowma-Chalan

Awareness and Social Marketing Campaigns
Engaging the Media
Brian Dyak
The workshop will explore the challenges that broadcast media is faced with in addressing suicide prevention. It will explore the potential role of television and radio as conduits for information about suicide prevention, including strategies to build support among media and consumers in broadcast areas and communities.

2:35 - 3:45pm     Breakout Session B

Surviving Suicide
Advocacy: Vital roles for survivors in state and community suicide prevention efforts
The panelists will share the lessons they have learned from their extensive experience as advocates for suicide prevention at the federal, state, and local levels.

Presentations:
Advocacy: Vital Roles for Survivors by Pam Harrington

The Jason Foundation by Clark Flatt

Advocacy as Soulcraft: The Vital Role of Survivors in State and Community Suicide Prevention Efforts by Merily Keller

Advocacy: Vital Roles for Survivors in Suicide Prevention Efforts by Jerry Reed



Mental Health/Substance Abuse/Domestic Violence
Understanding links between suicide and domestic violence
Lillian Range, Ph.D.
This presentation will cover domestic violence as a risk factor for suicide. It will provide evidence of a powerful graded relationship between adverse childhood experiences and attempted suicide throughout the lifetime. Additionally, it will discuss treatment issues for those who have experienced domestic abuse.

Suicide Prevention Across the Life Course
Evidence-based practices for youth
Janet Grossman, Ph.D.
This presentation will address the available evidence for youth suicide prevention. The evidence will include descriptions of the historical efforts, evaluations of programs, policy reports, best practice review and current efforts in systematic reviews of the evidence, including a systematic review undertaken in the collaboration of the American Association of Suicidology and the New Hampshire foundation. The special issues and challenges of youth coalitions will be addressed.

Leadership and Collaboration Skill Building Workshops
Assessing the Problem, Capacity, and Resources...and Making Decisions
Patti Horgas, M.S.N., Ph.D.(c)
This is a continuation from Breakout Session A.

Understanding Cultural Contexts
Suicide prevention among non-Native people of color
Sherry Molock, M.Div., Ph.D.
This session will explore the current level of knowledge about suicidal behaviors in non-Native communities of color, some of the barriers to treatment for communities of color and outline effective suicide prevention strategies, with special focus on using resources indigenous to the community in the development of prevention programs.

Awareness and Social Marketing Campaigns
Core competences in social marketing for suicide prevention
Lidia Bernik, M.H.S.
This presentation describes social marketing and how it differs from commercial marketing. It explains the key components of social marketing and suggests how it can be used in the field of suicide prevention. After the presentation, participants will have a clear and concise understanding of what constitutes social marketing. They will also understand the process of developing a social marketing campaign, including the questions that need to be answered when planning a campaign and the steps that need to be taken.
Presentation: Social Marketing by Lidia Bernik, M.H.S.
Accompanying Document: Social Marketing Resources by Lidia Bernik, M.H.S.

Developing and Evaluation Messages for Awareness Campaigns
Kerry Knox, Ph.D.
A summary of the recommendations from the NIMH, CDC, and SAMHSA workshop "The Science of Public Messages for Suicide Prevention" held October 22-23, 20003, will be presented. This meeting brought together suicide prevention advocates, authorities in public health message development, and experts in suicide contagion, state-level public health issues, health decision making, social marketing, and mental illness stigma to consider safe and effective ways of raising public awareness that suicide is a preventable public health problem.

3:45 - 4:00pm     Break
4:00 - 5:10pm     Breakout Session C

Surviving Suicide
Defining needs and interventions for suicide survivors
John (Jack) R. Jordan, Ph.D.
This presentation will provide an overview of the research and clinical literature on the prominent emotional issues experienced by suicide survivors. It will also cover the factors that are likely to predict an elevated risk for complicated mourning, and identify interventions that seem to be helpful to many survivors. The content will be useful both for clinicians working with survivors, and for administrators seeking to develop postvention services for survivors.
Presentation: Suicide Survivors: Defining Needs and Interventions by John R. Jordan, Ph.D.

Mental Health/Substance Abuse/Domestic Violence
Engaging providers of mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence prevention services in suicide prevention
Mary McIntosh and Merily Keller
The presenters will discuss experiences with organizing collaborative prevention efforts on both the state and community level. They will discuss how to identify and connect with key stakeholders from mental health, substance abuse and domestic violence and explore the most effective ways to navigate cultural, socio-economic and political environments.
Presentation: Community Organizing for Success in Suicide Prevention: Engaging Providers by Merily Keller

Suicide Prevention Across the Life Course
Evidence-based practices for elders
Andrea Charbonneau, MD, MSc
This presentation will describe the special characteristics of suicide among the aging and propose suicide prevention approaches based on the best available science.
Presentation: Elderly Suicide Prevention by Andrea Charbonneau, MD, MSc

Leadership and Collaboration Skill Building Workshops
Suicide Prevention Research: A Framework for Determining Effectiveness
Philip Rodgers, Ph.D.
Reliable information concerning the effectiveness of suicide prevention programs can be difficult to find. The Evidence-Based Practices Project (EBPP), a collaborative effort between the Suicide Prevention Resource Center and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, is in the process of creating an online registry of evidence-based suicide prevention programs. This session will provide an overview of the EBPP and the framework that has been developed to review the effectiveness of suicide prevention programs.

Understanding Cultural Contexts
Suicide prevention among GLBT youth
Anthony D'Augelli, Ph.D.
This session will review current research findings on how suicide attempts amongst lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations. The strengths and weaknesses of commonly used research strategies will be described. Implications will be drawn for suicide prevention interventions for this population, especially youth.

Awareness and Social Marketing Campaigns
Staging an Awareness Event
Pam Harrington
Participants will have a better understanding of how to plan and stage a state or local awareness event to build support for suicide prevention using the Florida Day at the Capitol and the SPAN National Awareness Event as models. The session will highlight how to avoid common pitfalls as well as share tactics for ensuring a successful awareness event.

5:15 - 6:30pm     Poster Session/Networking/Entertainment

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Day Three: Planning for Intervention

7:30 - 8:15am     Continental Breakfast
8:30am     Leadership, Organization, and Implementation:
Key Decision Points in State Suicide Prevention Campaigns
Keri Lubell, Ph.D.
9:20am     Break
9:30a     Strategic Planning for Suicide Prevention Programs: A Self Evaluation
David Litts, O.D.
Presentation: Strategic Planning for Suicide Prevention by David Litts, O.D., F.A.A.O., Ramya Sundararaman, M.D., M.P.H., Christopher Le, M.A., Suicide Prevention Resource Center With: Kathleen O'Connell, Ph.D., R.N., Franklin Cook, M.A.

10:10am     Break
10:25am     Policymakers Panel
  • James McDonough, Director, Florida Office of Drug Control, Office of the Governor
  • Mary Lou Marzian, R.N., Representative, State of Kentucky
  • Pam Martin, Ph.D., ABPP, Division Director, Department of Health, Behavioral Health Sciences Division
  • Moderator: Lucy Davidson, M.D., Ed.S.
11:25am     State Team Breakouts
12:30pm     State Team Box Lunch
1:30pm     Will Your Program Work? Creating a Collaboratively Developed Logic Model as the Basis for Evaluation
Patti Horgas, M.S.N., Ph.D.(c)
Presentation: Program Logic Models by Patti Horgas

2:40pm     Interstate Interest Group Breakouts

  • Mental Health/Substance Abuse Services
  • Survivor/Advocates
  • Community/Faith-Based Organizations
  • Education/Youth
  • Public Health/Injury Prevention
  • Justice/Law Enforcement/Corrections
  • Domestic Violence/Women's Issues
  • Native American
  • Aging
3:40pm     Break
3:55pm     State Team Breakouts
5:00 - 5:30pm     Informal Consultations with Speakers
Participants may meet informally with presenters to discuss evaluation and other challenges.
5:30 - 6:15pm     Yoga for Everyone
Ellen Freedman, M.P.H., Certified Yoga Instructor

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Day Four: Taking Action: Defining Next Steps

7:30 - 8:15am     Continental Breakfast
8:30am     State Team Breakouts
9:45am     Break
10:00am     State Presentations: Next Steps
11:30am     SPRC: Building capacity for the next steps
Lloyd Potter, Ph.D.
12:00p     Closing
12:15pm     Check out/Turn in Evaluations
12:30pm     Conference Adjourns

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