Suicide Awareness and Prevention for Therapy Professionals

Goals & Objectives:

Course Overview

Each year, according to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention (ASFP), 49,000 people die from self-directed injurious behavior that results in suicide (ASFP, 2025). This translates roughly into an average of 117 deaths by suicide per day. The foundation estimates the numbers to be higher due to the stigma surrounding suicide that leads to underreporting, and the fact that data-collection methods critical to suicide prevention lack uniformity. The rates of both suicides and suicide attempts are increasing among all age groups and are especially alarming for certain segments of the population. Even more importantly, in recent years it has been identified that suicide rates and emergency department visits for suicidal behavior among adults, adolescents and youth are rising across the US (Kuehn, 2020).

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this course, the learner should be able to:

• Analyze terms related to suicide and suicidal behavior. 
• Assess the prevalence of suicide and suicide attempts across the United States. 
• Categorize incidence and risk among different populations, including racial/ethnic groups, adolescents, older adults, veterans, and the gender diverse. 
• Assess incidence and risk among those with psychiatric diagnoses. 
• Categorize key risk factors, protective factors, and warning signs in the etiology of suicide. 
• Differentiate effective and efficient assessment of youth and adults who may be at-risk for suicide. 
• Classify essential components of decision-making and documentation with respect to suicide assessment and intervention. 
• Differentiate approaches to intervention and safety planning to manage individuals exhibiting suicidal ideation and other risk factors for suicide. 
• Predict effective prevention and intervention programs for at-risk youth and adults.