by Deona Hooper, MSW
On November 19, 2012 at 8PM EST, we will have a live twitter chat to discuss suicide prevention and the social work response. I have attached the link to the National Suicide Prevention website for information and tools for use in practice. Here is the link as follows: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
@swhelpercom will be moderating the debate using the hashtag #SWUnited with guests @harperlevy and @drbillschmitz
Here is an excerpt from Psycentral entitled “What to do when you think someone is suicidal“:
Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S., and the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds. Still, suicide remains a taboo topic, is highly stigmatized and is surrounded by myth and mystery.
One of the biggest — and most destructive — myths is that if you discuss suicide, you’re planting the idea in someone’s head, said Scott Poland, Ed.D, the prevention division director at the American Association of Suicidology and associate professor at Nova Southeastern University. Clinical psychologist and suicide expert William Schmitz, Psy.D., likens it to talking to someone who’s recently been diagnosed with cancer. By mentioning cancer, you’re not forcing the topic front and center. “If someone is diagnosed with cancer, it’s on their mind.” Bringing it up shows support and concern. Similarly, by talking about suicide, you show the person that you truly care about them. In fact, lack of connection is a key reason why people have suicidal thoughts; isolation contributes to and escalates their pain. Do you know what to do if someone is suicidal?
Update The Live Twitter Chat on Suicide Prevention and Identification brought to light some interesting perspective. Here are few of the tweets and the full archived discussion is attached.
@hollahayden @swhelpercom Self harm does not always = suicide. Intentional wording is important to assessing risk. @drbillschmitz #swunited
— Harper Levy (@harperlevy) November 20, 2012
@hollahayden @swhelpercom The local council here in Scotland started doing MH First Aid courses due to a dramatic rise in suicides #swunited
— lesley brown (@BrownLeisb) November 20, 2012
@swhelpercom Learn how to Assess and Treat a suicidal pt. If ppl don't have the training, get it. Training is available. #swunited
— Dr. William Schmitz (@DrBillSchmitz) November 20, 2012
View Archived Chat: http://storify.com/SWUnited/
