Helping People on the Edge: Dealing with the Challenges of Self-Harm and Suicidal Ideation

Helping suicidal clients can be very challenging. In this workshop, therapist, author and trauma expert Robin Shapiro will teach how to assess and treat suicidal clients by describing risk factors, and looking at demographics, triggers, reasons to live, and discussing the role that suicidal ideation plays. The discussion will cover  treatments for different diagnoses, temperaments, histories, and even varying demographics which can include gender, race, sexual orientation and social class. You will learn how to assess for safety using contracts, hospitalization, social support and other external resources.

Robin will touch on issues including the self of the therapist, therapeutic interventions and what specific language to use when assessing and treating your clients. Explore how to differentiate between chronic suicidal thoughts and one-time situational ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm and true suicidal ideation. You’ll leave with tools for talking to hospital staff, being part of discharge planning and even how to create contracts to keep appropriate clients out of the hospital. Most importantly, you’ll see that Affect Tolerance is at the base of almost all suicidal ideation and learn how to support your clients in feeling every emotion and staying alive.

By the end of this training, attendees will be better able to —

• Assess clients for suicidal ideas and plans
• Utilize several therapeutic interventions when working with suicidal clients
• Leverage components of the healthcare system for the good of your clients
• Know how to spot the difference between suicidal ideation and self-harm

Robin Shapiro, LICSW, relishes doing psychotherapy and spreading the word about healing trauma, dissociation, and disrupted attachment through clinical consultation, workshops, conferences, and her five books. She edited the two EMDR Solutions book, and wrote Trauma Treatment Handbook, Easy Ego State Interventions, and her newest Doing Psychotherapy, a comprehensive trauma and attachment-informed book for beginning therapists. Robin is known for her user-friendly interventions, humor, and warmth. She has been practicing ego state therapy since 1982 and mixing it with EMDR since 1993. She lives in Seattle with her sweet husband, Doug Plummer.

This training offers 3 hours of direct contact (not counting breaks or lunch). It is the participant’s responsibility to check with their individual state boards/regulatory body to verify CE requirements for their license to practice.

For Attendees of On Demand/Recorded Version

If you are watching the On Demand/recorded version of this webinar, you will need to complete a Post-Webinar Quiz with a pass of at least 80% in order to verify your attendance.

For US Participants

Instructions on how to obtain your Certificate of Attendance showing the hours completed will be distributed either following the Live Broadcast or with On-Demand registration (On-Demand participants must pass a post-webinar attendance quiz).  A CE package will be available which includes the full webinar description and details, the speaker’s CV and references.

For Canadian and International participants

Upon fulfillment of the above requirements, Canadian and international participants will be issued a Certificate of Participation which features:

• Name of Participant
• Title of Training
• Name of Presenter plus their credentials
• Number of hours of training
• Date of training
• Confirmation that you have passed a quiz with at least 80% grade to verify your attendance

Please check carefully with your regulating body/organization that this certificate is sufficient proof for you to claim CEUs.

For general information about Continuing Education for Canadians and International participants, please click here.  

This training is aimed at all mental health professionals including:

• social workers
• counsellors
• psychologists
• psychiatrists
• medical professionals supporting mental health patients
• psychotherapists
• mental health counsellors
• marriage and family therapists and counsellors
• occupational therapists
• vocational rehabilitation therapists
• addiction counsellors
• religious counsellors
• therapists
• case managers
• art therapists
• licensed professional counsellors
• all other professionals who would like to develop, update or expand their skills and knowledge in mental health practices