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Webinar

F25-701 Navigating Suicide Risk: Assessment Strategies and Clinical Considerations

Total Credits: 4 Category I CEs

Categories:
200 Adults, Couples & Families |  700 Professional Growth & Development |  New
Instructor:
Veronica Cruz, LCSW-C
Course Levels:
Intermediate
Duration:
4 Hours 15 Minutes
Target Audience:
Social Workers, LCPCs, and Psychologists
Dates
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Description

According to the CDC, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, is the second leading cause of death of people aged 15–24, and has steadily increased for those aged 65+. Certain groups are at higher risk, including adolescents, marginalized communities (LGTBQ+, the military, unhoused individuals, and more), older adults, and individuals with co-occurring disorders. Current statistics indicate that, on average, 132 Americans die by suicide every day. This translates to one suicide death in the US every 10.9 minutes. The numbers are significantly higher for suicide ideation and attempts. Despite this prevalence, many clinicians struggle to complete a comprehensive suicide risk assessment. This webinar will examine the differences and similarities between active, passive, and accidental suicide. Keen attention will be placed on identifying assessment and treatment barriers, including understanding differential diagnosis. Various issues will be discussed, including propensity, risk factors, brain development, levels of risk, co-morbidity, suicide behavior disorder, assessments, and treatment modalities. Attendees will be provided with an array of assessment tools and resources to be fully equipped and ready to conduct a comprehensive suicide risk assessment, including understanding and exploring clinical considerations and challenges. This is an interactive workshop with case scenarios to further enhance the learning experience.  

 

This workshop is in accordance with and compliance with the NASW Standards with a focus on service, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, competence, and social workers’ ethical responsibilities to clients, in practice settings, as professionals, to the social work profession, to the broader society. 

This workshop is in compliance with the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners’ COMAR 10.42.03.06.A(5) and with the District of Columbia Board of Social Work 17-70-7008.4.   

Instructor

Veronica Cruz, LCSW-C Related Seminars and Products

Cruz and Associates

Ms. Cruz is a bilingual (Spanish/English) clinical and forensic social worker with over twenty years of experience working in the mental health and legal arena. She is a qualified expert witness in clinical and forensic social work in numerous jurisdictions and courts in Maryland and at the federal level. She concentrates on cases involving illegal or harsh sentences, post-conviction relief, modifications of sentences, and juveniles charged as adults. Ms. Cruz is the founder and CEO of Cruz & Associates, LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in preparing comprehensive forensic psychosocial reports for criminal and civil matters, continuing education, and psychotherapy. When not working on cases, she is an avid continuing education presenter who specializes in trauma and ethics.     

Ms. Cruz is a graduate of the Catholic University of America with a BA in psychology. She received her Master of Social Work, specializing in mental health and addiction, from the University of Maryland School of School Work. In 2014, she completed an advanced two-year post-graduate Forensic Social Work Certification through the University of Maryland Continuing Education Department. In 2008, she co-created the Forensic Social Work Committee for NASW-MD. In 2010, she became the sole chair, a position she maintained until 2016, when she resigned due to other professional obligations. She continues to advocate for legislative changes. She maintains various professional memberships and affiliations and has been a professor at University of Maryland School of Social Work (Shady Grove and Baltimore campus) and has taught at Catholic University of America's Master of Social Work program.   

Agenda & Learning Objectives

AGENDA:

11:50 am – 12:00 pm Log on  

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Statistics, Propensity, Risk & Protective Factors  

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Differential Diagnosis & Case Examples 

2:00 pm – 2:15 pm BREAK  

2:15 pm – 3:00pm pm: Suicide Risk Assessments (SAFE-T) & Case Example   

3:00pm – 4:15 pm: Clinical Considerations and Assessment & Screening Tools  

4:15 Adjournment   

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Upon the completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Explore the statistics and propensity of suicide, including gender differences, warning signs, risks, and protective factors.   

  • Demonstrate an understanding of issues related to conducting a comprehensive suicide risk assessment.   

  • Clinically analyze differential diagnosis and explore various assessment tools including the Suicide Risk-Assessment Tool, the ASQ screening tool, and many more.   

  • Effectively analyze and explore a variety of interventions and prevention techniques to reduce suicide ideation and attempts.   

  • Deconstruct case examples to illustrate how to effectively conduct a suicide risk assessment.  

Bibliography & References

BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES

Asarnow, Joan Rosenbaurm et al. (2020) Suicide, Self-Harm, & Traumatic Stress Exposure: A Trauma-Informed Approach to the Evaluation and Management of Suicide Risk. Evidenced Based Practice in Child Adolescent Mental Health, 5(4): 483-500 

Ehlers CL, Yehuda R, Gilder DA, Bernert R, Karriker-Jaffe KJ. Trauma, historical trauma, PTSD and suicide in an American Indian community sample. J Psychiatr Res. 2022 Dec;156:214-220. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.10.012. Epub 2022 Oct 7. PMID: 36265258; PMCID: PMC9842016. 

Holden RR, Patterson AA, Fekken GC. (2022) Childhood trauma and non-suicidal self-injury: Mental pain and depression as mediators in university and community samples? Pers Individ Differ; 187:111414. [DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2021.111414] 

Kimerling, Rachel, PhD. (2016) Military Sexual Trauma and Suicide Mortality. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(6):684-691 

Mitchell, Kimberly, PhD. et al. (2019) Youth Exposure to Suicide Attempts: Relative Impact on Personal trauma Symptoms. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 56(1) 109-115 

Rogerson, O orcid.org/0000-0002-6967-587X, Baguley, T and O'Connor, DB orcid.org/0000-0003-4117-4093 (2023) Childhood Trauma & Suicide: associations between impulsivity, executive functioning and stress. Crisis: the Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 44 (5). pp. 433-441. ISSN 0227-5910 

Sala-Hamrick, Kelsey J. et al. (2023) Diagnosed Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Other-Trauma-Associated Stress Disorders and Risk for Suicide Mortality. Psychiatric Services, 74:9  

Procter, N., Othman, S., Jayasekara, R., Procter, A., McIntyre, H. and Ferguson, M. (2023), The impact of trauma-informed suicide prevention approaches: A systematic review of evidence across the lifespan. Int J Mental Health Nurs, 32: 3-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13048 

Shahmoradi H, Masjedi-Arani A, Bakhtiari M, Abasi I. (2021) Investigating the role of childhood trauma, emotion dysregulation, and self-criticism in predicting self-harming behaviors. Clin Psychol.; 9(4):321-8. [DOI:10.32598/jpcp.9.4.789.1] 

Vito Z. Suicidal Behaviour in Complex Trauma Syndrome.(2020) Mental Health Human Resilience International Journal,  4(1): 000136. 

Wu, R.; Zhu, H.; Wu, M.-Y.; Wang, G.-H.; Jiang, C.-L. Childhood Trauma and Suicide: The Mediating Effect of Stress and Sleep. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 8493. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph19148493 

Xie M, Zou XM, Xie YJ, Hu L, Tang YG, Cai J, Kuang YX, Zhu L, Zou M and Wang Q (2023) Childhood trauma and suicide risk in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia: the sequential mediating roles of pandemic related post-traumatic stress symptoms, sleep quality, and psychological distress. Front. Psychiatry 14:1221529. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1221529 

Cornell University: Self-Injury & Recovery Resources (SIRR) http://www.selfinjury.bctr.cornell.edu/resources.html 

SAMSA (Suicide Prevention Resource Center) https://www.sprc.org/ 

American Association of Suicidology https://suicidology.org/resources/warning-signs/ 

National Center for the Prevention of Youth Suicide  https://www.preventyouthsuicide.org/ 

Course Completion & CE Information

Category I Maryland BSWE Requirement

The Office of Continuing Professional Education at the University of Maryland School of Social Work is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in Maryland to sponsor social work continuing education programs. This workshop qualifies for 4 Category I Continuing Education Units. The Office of Continuing Professional Education is also authorized by the Maryland Board of Psychologists and the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors to sponsor Category A continuing professional education. 

 

ASWB Information 

University of Maryland School of Social Work Office of Continuing Professional Education, #1611, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 2/11/2024-2/11/2027.  

To receive ACE credit, full attendance is required; no partial credits will be given for partial attendance. 

 

Certificate Access

To access the evaluation and certificate, click on the orange certificate button in your CPE account. Once you complete the evaluation, access to the certificate will be available.  

Live Interactive Webinars (Cat I) and Live Webinars (Cat II) - Allow up to 30 minutes post-training for attendance to be verified, then you will be able to access the evaluation and certificate. 

In Person Trainings - Please allow five (5) business days post-training for attendance to be verified, then you will be able to access the evaluation and certificate. 

 

Please refer to the tab "Live Interactive Webinar Policies & FAQs" for UMSSW Office of CPE policies regarding all live interactive webinar related matters. Contact our office at cpe@ssw.umaryland.edu for more information.  

Evaluation

Participants will have access to the evaluation after attendance has been verified. Evaluations will be available for one (1) week after the workshop has ended.  

After one (1) week, participants will no longer have access to the evaluation and will have to contact CPE about reactivation.

Target Audience

Social Workers, LCPCs, and Psychologists

We welcome anyone interested in the topic!

 

Live Interactive Webinar Platforms

LIVE INTERACTIVE WEBINAR PLATFORMS

The Office of Continuing Professional Education hosts Live Interactive Webinars through Zoom. This platform offers a high quality and user-friendly webinar platform for our registrants.

System Requirements:

  • Operating Systems: Windows XP or higher; MacOS 9 or higher; Android 4.0 or higher.
  • Internet Browser: Google Chrome; Firefox 10.0 or higher.

Our system is not compatible with the Safari web browser.

  • Broadband Internet Connection: Cable, High-speed DSL and any other medium that is internet accessible.

**Please have your device charging at all times to ensure that your device does not lose power during the webinar.

Course Interaction Requirements:

To participate in Live Interactive Webinars, you MUST have a device that allows you to view the presentation on screen and hear the instructor at all times. We do not allow participants to call-in from their phones or mobile devices and solely listen to the presentation. Participation in Live Interactive Webinars is mandatory.

Our webinar policies can be found on our website by clicking here.

Webinar Policies & FAQs

Click The Link to View The Webinar Policies & FAQs

https://umbsswcpe.ce21.com/Page/live-interactive-webinar-procedures-policies-4129

 

 

Code of Conduct

The Office of Continuing Professional Education at the University of Maryland School of Social Work adheres to the NASW Code of Ethics. This policy is to ensure that the training environment for social work professionals remains respectful, productive, and conducive to learning. Disruptive behavior that interferes with the learning process, disrupts the training experience for others, or undermines the integrity of the program will not be tolerated.

 

Expectations for Participant Engagement:

In alignment with the NASW Code of Ethics and the University of Maryland Baltimore Code of Conduct, participants are expected to demonstrate professionalism, which includes respecting confidentiality, maintaining a collaborative and respectful tone, and contributing positively to the group dynamic. Disclosures made during the training (e.g., case studies or personal reflections) must be handled with care and in accordance with ethical and legal guidelines.

All participants in the training program are expected to:

  • Engage actively in the learning process and show respect for the opinions and contributions of others.
  • Demonstrate professionalism in both attitude and behavior, maintaining respect for instructors, peers, and the training environment.
  • Maintain open communication by expressing concerns or disagreements constructively and respectfully.
  • Follow the guidelines and expectations provided by instructors and facilitators.
  • Support a collaborative learning environment where all participants feel valued and safe to contribute.

 

Instructors and CPE staff reserve the right to dismiss participants who do not adhere to ethical/professional principles and standards. If removed, CEs will be adjusted to reflect the time attended, unless otherwise specified. 

ADA Accommodations

If you are requesting ADA accommodations, please contact our office via email at least two weeks prior to the workshop date. Requests after that date may not be fulfilled.  

Our email address is cpe@ssw.umaryland.edu.  

Late Fees and Refunds

The base price is $85, which includes CE credit.  

Late Fee: On 09/05/25, a non-refundable late fee of $20 is added to the base price. Late fees cannot be refunded or applied to account credit.  

Cancellations: **ALL cancellations will be subjected to a $35.00 administration fee.**  To be eligible for a refund or CPE account credit, cancellations must be made at least 24 hours before the workshop. 

For more information, please read the general policies on our website.  

 

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