Part I: Suicide and Suicide Grief. Part II: Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors: LOSS Team Impact on Community Grief

Presentation Description

In this training, attendees will attain a better understanding of the issue of suicide including suicide myths and facts, prevalence, risk factors, warning signs, and protective elements. Additionally, participants will learn about and discuss the complexity of suicide grief and loss from a systems perspective. While navigating the discussion of suicide grief, presenter, Ciara Warden, LISW will explain the benefit of “Postvention as prevention” in our communities through the development of a local LOSS Team, to better support those impacted by suicide loss.

About the Presenter

Ciara Warden is a Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) in the State of Iowa and member of the American Association of Suicidology. She attained her B.A. in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Kansas State University and her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Kansas. Ciara has professional experience in mental health crisis response, inpatient psychiatric care, clinical mental health therapy, and post-secondary instruction and management. Currently, Ciara is employed at the University of Nebraska – Omaha, in their Grace Abbott School of Social Work and co-owns a private practice. At UNO, Ciara serves as a full-time faculty member and the school’s MSW Program Coordinator. Ciara specializes in crisis issues, primarily suicide research, education, outreach, and grief and loss

Objectives

1.  Discuss suicide in regards to myths and facts, prevalence, risk factors, warning signs, and protective elements.

2. Explain the complexity of suicide grief and loss from a systems perspective.

3. Describe the "postvention as prevention" concept in regards to suicide and suicide survivors.

4. Explain the postvention-model in action through a LOSS Team implementation.