Suicide and Risk Assessment
May 14-15, 2024
8:30 - 11:30am CST each day
June 11-12, 2024
8:30 - 11:30am CST each day
Course Description
Assessing suicide risk or risk of harm to others is the most critical aspect of crisis work. Because suicide and homicide can and does happen, this six-hour core training emphasizes the importance of self‐care in order to be an effective helper during times of acute crisis. Participants will be given an overview of secondary trauma as a by‐product to the work they do, and asked to identify personal coping strategies to help mitigate the effects. Participants will also learn about the trauma‐ informed crisis response process and be given an overview of suicide statistics. Risk factors, warning signs and protective factors will be identified and participants will develop a crisis response plan, utilizing what they have learned. Also covered will be assessment and intervention with those at risk to harm others, including personal safety and duty to warn. Legal implications of decision‐making will be covered with an emphasis on risk management and use of supervision for response planning with individuals at risk for suicide or to harm others.
Learning Objectives:
- Define secondary traumatic stress and ways to mitigate the impact
- Understand the fundamentals of trauma‐informed response
- Understand the stages of crisis response
- Demonstrate active listening skills
- Understand the role of validation and affirmation in crisisresponse
- Describe suicide statistics in the general and specific populations
- Understand the risk factors, warning signs and protective factors involved in suicide assessment
- Conduct an assessment for suicide
- Understand borderline personality disorder, parasuicide and suicide risk
- Understand the risk factors involved in assessing an individual at risk to harm others
- Define risk management and the need to share the risk through accessing supervisory consultation
- Understand the basic guidelines for interacting with a person who is potentially violent
- Understand the legal implications of decision‐making, including the importance of good documentation
About Your Trainer
Liz Bartz, MS
Elizabeth (Liz) Bartz, MS (she/her/hers) holds a Master of Science degree in Community Mental Health Counseling, with an emphasis on children with emotional and behavioral disturbances and their families, as well as a substance use disorders specialty to compliment the counseling major. Liz has a diverse array of experience serving folks as a human service professional in various roles and through teaching in higher education.
Her professional experience began at a domestic abuse and sexual assault support center; moving on to working with youth in a residential treatment facility; and to county-based case management for children receiving services through the autism waiver program and the state children’s waiver for a county community programs department. Liz then transitioned to a role within community mental health services, providing crisis intervention services (on call crisis, mobile crisis, court monitoring court ordered civil commitments), completing initial assessments, functional screens and referrals to mental health and substance use treatment, case management and waiver programs, certifying and renewing adult family homes, and serving on the safety committee, organizing and providing training opportunities within the agency and the community.
While continuing to work within the county system, Liz also began teaching general studies psychology courses part-time at local community colleges. In the fall of 2017, Liz began working with UW-Green Bay’s Behavioral Health Training Partnership, primarily training the three Crisis Core trainings and facilitating special skills and topics trainings.
Liz is passionate about serving you by sharing knowledge and her professional experience; while learning from each of you and facilitating a human services professional network of peers.