Insights into interventions for people experiencing risk of suicide: Recent developments in research and clinical practice

Description

Insights into interventions for people experiencing risk of suicide: Recent developments in research and clinical practice. Presenters: Dr Katrina Witt, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Post-Doctoral Fellow,Turning Point, Eastern Health Clinical School & Monash University and Frank Hughes Senior Education Officer Turning Point.

1 Day workshop, Monday the 16th of September 2019
The workshop: Research consistently shows that up to one-third of those who die by suicide have problems with alcohol. Illicit and pharmaceutical drug addictions are also likely to be implicated, placing alcohol and drug treatment services at the fore-front of efforts to identify and link those at risk of suicidal behaviour in with ongoing treatment services. This workshop will provide participants with an update of what we know about the risks of suicide in alcohol and drug treatment seeking populations as well as presenting evidence-based risk assessment and prevention interventions most likely to be effective for this group. Participants will also hear from a lived-experience perspective and have the opportunity to practice skill development in the worskhop.

Dr Katrina Witt: After completing her Doctor in Philosophy at the University of Oxford in the UK, Dr Katrina Witt spent a year working as a post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Suicide Research at the University of Oxford where she published several Cochrane systematic reviews of the evidence-base for psychological and pharmacological treatments for persons at risk of suicide. Currently, she is an American Foundation for Suicide Prevention post-doctoral fellow at Turning Point and Monash University where, amongst other things, she is looking into the role played by alcohol and other drug addiction in increasing suicide risk. She is also co-Chair for the Work and Suicide Special Interest Group for the International Association for Suicide Prevention and has won numerous awards for her work, including most recently as a finalist for the 2016 Research Impact Award from the Victorian Young Achiever's Award.

Frank Hughes is a mental health nurse with a Masters in Mental Health Science. He has extensive clinical and workforce development experience in the mental health sector with a speciality in youth mental health. He has coordinated subjects in the Masters of Youth Mental Health course at the University of Melbourne and the Masters of Addictive Behaviours through Monash University. As well as being a senior educator at Turning Point he also works part-time clinically as a private provider with headspace.

Who should register? Anyone working in clinical practice in the sector (either AOD or suicide prevention) as well as interested others - including students, researchers, etc.​