In 2019, more than 47,500 people died by suicide in the United States, making it the tenth leading cause of death. The number of suicide attempts per year is even greater, measuring roughly 1.4 million (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Despite the reality that suicide directly impacts millions of people, embedding the expertise of individuals with lived experience in direct treatment, programming, outreach, and health systems change is a relatively new and underutilized approach to suicide prevention. Mounting evidence has shown that lived experience as a broad concept can be deeply and uniquely impactful in implementing meaningful change (Sandhu, 2017). Prioritizing lived experience leadership and guidance in suicide prevention strategies can be a life-saving measure (National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, 2014). 

The Zero Suicide framework emphasizes the inclusion of suicide attempt and loss survivors as a key tenet of implementation success for all health and behavioral health systems. In this webinar, presenters will discuss how having lived experience integrated across all staff roles and levels can transform organizational culture, the impact of peer support initiatives on suicide prevention practices and service delivery, and concrete approaches for successfully embedding lived experience in an organization’s standard practices.

Format

Recorded webinar, non-interactive, self-paced distance learning activity.

This presentation was recorded on August 16, 2021.

Learning Objectives

• Design strategies to foster an organizational culture that prioritizes lived experience as a central component of systems change focused on suicide prevention.
• Identify staff training considerations and practices that facilitate peer support service delivery and leadership within an organization. 
• Describe how individuals with lived experience can help aid warm handoff practices to ensure safe care transitions between services and levels of care. 

Target Audience

Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Physician (non-psychiatrist), Physician Assistant  

Instructional Level

Intermediate

Estimate Time to Complete

Estimated Duration: 1.5 hour  
Program Start Date: August 26, 2021   
Program End Date: August 26, 2024 

How to Earn Credit

Participants who wish to earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ or a certificate of participation may do so by viewing the live presentation and completing the evaluation. After evaluating the program, course participants will be provided with an opportunity to claim hours of participation and print an official CME certificate (physicians) or certificate of participation (other disciplines) showing the event date and hours earned. 

Continuing Education Credit

Physicians

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

The APA designates this live event for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Faculty and Planner Disclosures

All financial relationships relevant to this activity have been mitigated. 

Instructor

• Lisa St. George, MSW, CPRP, CPSS, brings over 40 years of experience in the health and human services industry. She is a seasoned executive leader and currently serves as the vice president of peer support and empowerment at RI International. Her work with RI International has spanned 20 years, during which time she has provided executive leadership and program development of RI International’s peer support workforce and programs in Arizona, California, and New Zealand. She is a principal author of RI International’s Peer Employment Training which, as of February 2021, has trained 14,560 peer support workers nationally and internationally. She was a board member of the International Association of Peer Supporters for fifteen years and sat as board chair for three years. Ms. St. George completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work at Arizona State University. Ms. St. George believes in the resiliency of the human spirit and in the inherent strength of people with mental health and addiction challenges.  

•  Tony Stelter, MHR, C-PRSS, LPC, resides in Moore, OK, and serves as the director of recovery supports for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Tony is responsible for planning, developing, and managing administrative and programmatic aspects of advocacy for the development of recovery support services, programming, and inclusion in the state’s mental health system and assists facilities in transitioning toward a recovery-oriented, holistic, consumer-driven system. Tony has over 10 years of experience working in mental health and substance use services in a variety of roles including outpatient, inpatient, crisis care, and advocacy, and is a founding member of the Lived Experience Advisory Committee of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Tony received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma in Psychology and received his masters in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. Tony is a Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist and Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Oklahoma.  

Planners

• John Torous, MD, American Psychiatric Association. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests. 

Accessibility for Participants with Disabilities

The American Psychiatric Association is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website to people with disabilities. If you have trouble accessing any of APA’s online resources, please contact us at 202-559-3900 for assistance.

Technical Requirements

This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following:   

• The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari   
• Internet Explorer 11+   

This Web site requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.   

Optimal System Configuration:   

• Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version)   
• Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version)   
• Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher   

Minimum Requirements:   

• Windows PC: Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content   

• Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher with latest updates installed; Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512 MB or higher RAM; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content   

For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity | Contact learningcenter@psych.org for technical assistance