Instructor-Led Identifying, Assessing, and Introduction to Treating Suicidal Behavior with DBT

Held October 18, 2024

9 am - 5 pm (7 CEUs including 2 Ethics hours)

Most social workers will encounter suicidal clients more than once in their careers. While suicide is the penultimate act we wish to avoid, practitioners must also intervene with non-fatal suicidal behaviors that occur with higher frequency. These include suicidal ideation or thoughts; suicidal verbalization, often in the form of suicide threats, intentional self-harm, and suicide attempts. Research on suicidal behavior now indicates that non-fatal suicidal behaviors are often most effectively reduced via systematic focus and specialized intervention strategies. This course will assist social workers in identifying, assessing, and managing the clinical risks associated with suicidal behavior as well as expose them to the most recent empirical research advances in DBT treatment suicidal behavior.

By the end of this workshop, fully engaged participants will be able to:

• Identify the incidence and prevalence of various suicidal behaviors in demographic and diagnostic groups
• Explore ethical considerations and implications related to suicidality
• Gain knowledge of the significance of culture, race, and ethnic on suicidality
• Gain knowledge of the religious/spiritual influences on suicidality
• Gain knowledge of risk, identification, and assessment of suicidal behaviors in children and adolescents
• Understand some core DBT evidence-based treatment interventions for suicidality

Dr. Robin E. Gearing is a Professor of Social Work and the Director of the Center for Mental Health Research and Innovation in Treatment Engagement and Service (MH-RITES). He also has extensive experience practicing as a clinical social worker in psychosocial and mental health treatment service for more than twenty-five years. Dr. Gearing’s research focuses on improving the mental health outcomes of youth and adults with serious mental illnesses and their families. His research is driven by an interest in informing and improving engagement to empirically supported psychosocial and medication treatment and developing evidence-based interventions. As a researcher, his areas of expertise are schizophrenia spectrum disorders, depressive disorders, and suicide intervention. Dr. Gearing’s work focuses on engagement with mental health services, including culturally informed adaptations of empirically supported interventions. Dr. Gearing also holds a clinical faculty appointment at the University of Texas Health McGovern Medical School Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and he serves as a board member on the Board of Trustees for The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD. In addition to other forums, findings from Dr. Gearing’s research has appeared in over 100 publications.