Lenape Valley Foundation (LVF) will host a virtual suicide prevention conference on Wednesday, October 27 via Zoom from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm. This half-day seminar, which is co-hosted by the Bucks County Suicide Prevention Task Force, aims to provide current information and best practices in suicide prevention. Renowned speakers will provide information and answer questions that will be beneficial to professionals, educators, family members and the community.

The keynote presenters are Anna S. Mueller, Ph.D., the Luther Dana Waterman Associate Professor of Sociology at Indiana University, and Rory O’Connor, Ph.D., FAcSS, Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Dr. Mueller will discuss Social Roots of Adolescent Suicide. Her research examines (1) the social roots of adolescent suicide and suicide clusters; (2) the mechanisms driving suicide “contagion” among youth; and (3) how organizational science can help improve suicide prevention in schools. Her research on youth suicide has been recognized by numerous awards including Science News’s Top 10 Early Career Scientists to Watch, American Sociological Association’s Eliot Freidson Award, and the American Association of Suicidology’s Edwin S. Shneidman Early Career Award.

Dr. O’Connor’s presentation is titled When It is Darkest: Understanding Suicide Risk. He is President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and a Past President of the International Academy of Suicide Research. He leads the Suicidal Behaviour Research Laboratory at Glasgow, one of the leading suicide/self-harm research groups internationally. He has published extensively in the field of suicide and self-harm, specifically concerning the psychological processes which precipitate suicidal behavior and self-harm. He is also co-author/editor of several books and is author of When It is Darkest: Why People Die by Suicide and What We Can Do To Prevent It (2021).  He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Archives of Suicide Research and Associate Editor of Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. He acts as an advisor to a range of national and international organizations including national governments on the areas of suicide and self-harm. He is also Co-Chair of the Academic Advisory Group to the Scottish Government’s National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group.

In addition, Rhonda Hart, LCSW, Behavioral Health: Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator for the Philadelphia Department of Veteran Affairs, will present VA S.A.V.E. and Lenape Valley Foundation staff members Kristopher Thompson, LCSW, Associate Executive Director of Crisis Services, and Nicole Wolf, M.Ed., Director of Education and Training, will present on De-escalating Potential Suicide Risk.

 The conference is open to the public, however online reservations are required in order to receive the Zoom link. The registration fee is $25. The program is pending approval by the National Association of Social Workers for four continuing education credits. Four credits have currently been approved for EMS CPC (clinical patient care). To register or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, visit http://www.lenapevf.org/SPConference.

For additional information, please call Suzanne Rhodeside at 267-893-5280 or e-mail suzanne.rhodeside@lenapevf.org.