Zero Suicide in Texas (ZEST) Collaborative Call: July 2015

DSHS: Jenna Heise

TIEMH: Molly Lopez

Erica Shapiro

Six slots for audiotape submissions on the 15th of each month, beginning this month, to ensure adequate time for review and feedback

Sign up for a slot using Google Docs. Please let me know if you need it re-sent.

Select whether an audiotape of an actual (or mock) session will be submitted

If a mock session is selected, have your “client” contact Erica Shapiro by email (erica.shapiro@austin.utexas.edu) to be assigned a vignette

REMINDER: SIGN UP FOR SAFETY PLANNING INTERVENTION TAPE SUBMISSION

UPCOMING TRAININGS

Zero Suicide Academy: August 18, 2015 State Suicide Prevention Symposium:

August 19, 2015 ASK: August 27-Austin; August 31-

Houston; and September 17-Fort Worth

SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES…

CAMS Implementation What has been the feedback from

staff taking the training? How have you planned roll-out within

your organization? Have staff implemented the model

and how are they doing? How has the agency been supporting

staff while learning this new practice?

How are you evaluating the impact?

SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES…

Suicide Risk Pathways How has your team thought about

implementation of the pathways? Have you begun steps towards

measuring or implementing the pathways?

Where do you see the biggest challenge to implementation?

How can you evaluating the impact?

Plan

DoStudy

Act

POSTVENTION PLANNINGGoal: Agencies will develop a suicide postvention plan that addresses

individuals who may be affected by the suicide death of an individual in care or an agency employee.

RATIONALE

• An average of 4.5 to 7.5 immediate family members and around 15 to 20 extended family members, friends, and colleagues can be considered “intimately and directly affected” by suicide.

• Many others may also be affected, even if they did not have a relationship with the deceased.

• Exposure to suicide behaviors or death increases the risk of those exposed for suicide.

Suicide Postvention is Prevention

• Although most work focuses on “Suicide Survivors,” more recent models argue for examining a broader population of focus

• Cerel et al.’s model (2014)• Exposed to suicide• Affected by suicide • Bereaved with short term

impact• Bereaved with long term

impact

MODELS OF IMPACT

DEFINING POSTVENTION

• Survivors of Suicide Loss Task Force (2015) define postvention as:

“An organized response in the aftermath of a suicide to accomplish any one or more of the following: (a) to facilitate the healing of individuals from the grief and distress of suicide loss; (b) to mitigate other negative effects of exposure to suicide; and (c) to prevent suicide among people who are at high risk after exposure to suicide.”

POSTVENTION PLANNING

• Organizational plan should address the possible death of• a consumer or former consumer • a staff member

• Organizational plan should identify steps related to communication with• Family members• Consumers who may be impacted• Staff members

Check out the sample plan from

Centerstone!

STAGES OF POSTVENTION

Immediate

• Minimize trauma impact• Provide psychological first aid to those exposed

Short

Term

• Promote healthy grieving• Provide additional support/services to those most

affected

Long-Term

• Reflects the shift from postvention to prevention• Offer multiple strategies for identifying/engaging

individuals at risk of suicide• Consider impact of anniversaries or other events

Model of active suicide postvention where trained suicide loss survivors are dispatched to the scene of a suicide to provide information about community resources and begin to instill hope for the future.

LOSS TEAMS

Active Postven-tion

Passive Postvention

020406080

100120

48.5

97.5

Days Until Suicide Loss Survivor Presented for

Care

Nu

mb

er

of

Da

ys f

rom

D

ea

th

0

10

2023

13.6

Average Number of Support Group Meetings Attended by

Suicide Loss Survivors

Nu

mb

er

of

Mee

tin

gs

Att

en

de

d

PSYCHOEDUCATION AND SUPPORT GROUPS

Psychoeducation• Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE)

Suicide Survivor Support Groups• Survivors of Suicide• Survivors after Suicide

Additional Resources• AFSP Facilitator Training program• Towards Good Practice: Standards and Guidelines for

Suicide Bereavement Support Groups• SAVE and AFSP maintain lists of support groups

• Research is limited, but would suggest that evidence-based trauma and grief interventions would be most beneficial

• Some suggestions:• Trauma-Focused CBT for Traumatic Grief• Complicated Grief Therapy• Prolonged Exposure Therapy• Cognitive Processing Therapy

TREATMENT OF TRAUMA/COMPLICATED

BEREAVEMENT

MOVING BEYOND-COMMUNITY EXPANSION

• Postvention response teams• Postvention responses within the community

(schools, first responders, health care staff, clergy, funeral directors)

• Consultation to partner organizations on developing best practice postvention plans

• Raise awareness of local media on safe messaging guidelines

ZEST GROUPS & MEETING DATES

Wednesdays, 2pm CST

Fridays, 9am CST

Border Region Tropical

Coastal Plains Harris

Hill Country Bluebonnet

ATCIC Spindletop

Tarrant Tri County

*Denton *Denton

Month Wednesdays, 2pm CST Fridays, 9am CST

October       (2014)

ALL GROUPS: Weds 2pm, Oct 29th

ALL GROUPS: Weds 2pm, Oct 29th

November Nov 19th Nov 21st

December Dec 17th Dec 19th

January        (2015)

Jan 28th Jan 30th

February Safety Planning Training Safety Planning Training

March Mar 25th Mar 27th

April Apr 22nd Apr 24th

May May 27th May 29th

June Jun 24th Jun 26th

July Jul 29th Jul 31st

August Zero Suicide Summit Zero Suicide Summit

September Sep 23rd Sep 25th