2018 Pre-Congress Workshop 2: Therapy with People Who Are Suicidal: Critical Issues

Jun 24, 2018 09:00AM to Jun 24, 2018 04:30PM
Palais des congrès de Montréal

Presented by: Brigitte Lavoie
Sponsored by: Counselling Psychology
Continuing Education Credits: 6
Notes:

Cost:

CPA/IAAP Members: $345.00 + GST + QST 

Non-Members: $425.00 + GST + QST 

CPA/IAAP Student Affiliates: $230.00+ GST + QST

Delegate categories will be as per the World Bank Economic Categories:

  • Category A = Higher-income economies (GNI per capita: $12,236 or more)
  • Category B = Upper-middle-income economies (GNI per capita: $3,956 to $12,235)
  • Category C = Lower-middle-income economies (GNI per capita: $1,006 to $3,955) & Low-income economies (GNI per capita: $1,005 or less)

Click here to download the country list 

If you are a Non-Canadian Resident residing in a Category B or C country, please click here.

Duration: Full Day (9:00 – 16:30)
Target Audience: Clinicians and graduate students
Skill/Difficulty Level: Intermediate/advanced level

Workshop Description:

Most people who have died by suicide had consulted a health professional in the months preceding their death and the majority of people who die by suicide suffer from a mental health problem. Considering the characteristics of the clients they see, psychologists must be equipped to help people who are vulnerable to suicide, even if, as clinicians, they do not choose to specialize in the field of suicide prevention. Quebec’s Ministry of Health and Social Services recommends the use of Solution-focused brief therapy in this work. This model allows psychologists to approach recurrence in new ways by emphasizing the future, reasons to live, resilience, and the competencies of clients. This can be a challenge for clinicians who have traditionally been trained to place emphasis on the past and on symptoms. Furthermore, historically, suicide has been viewed as a crisis, which can make it difficult to see how intervention can (and should) be done throughout the therapeutic process with the people who are most vulnerable to suicide. This workshop offers concrete strategies and a model of evaluation that allows clinicians to build hope with clients for the long term. Participants will also identify practices that are contraindicated for people who are suicidal, as well as alternatives that are more effective. They will leave the workshop feeling more comfortable in their work with clients who are making repeated attempts to live.

Learning Outcomes:

  1. Build hope and support attempts to live with the most vulnerable clients (traditional men, people suffering from depression and personality disorders)
  2. Reinforce the part that wants to live throughout the therapeutic process
  3. Continue assessment by monitoring risk and and protective factors throughout the therapeutic process
  4. Stop some commonly applied practices that can contribute to client despair