Suicide Prevention: Epidemiology, Assessment and Interventions

Presented by the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Alumni Association and the California Society of Clinical Social Work, this training meets the new one-time mandatory 6-CEU requirement from the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) for Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention training for LCSWs, LMFTs, and LPCCs renewing their license on or after January 1, 2021, as well as Associates applying for their LCSW, LMFT or LPCC on or after January 1, 2021. *  

Presenter:  Golnaz Agahi, DSW, LCSW, MPH

This six-hour suicide prevention course provides a comprehensive overview of current statistics, risk and protective factors, evidence based screening tools and interventions to assist professionals in providing more comprehensive care to individuals at risk of suicide. Data presented will provide an overview of gender and racial differences in suicide, means of suicide and review high risk populations and review the Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5150/5585 which governs involuntarily hospitalization. This course will also review updated evidence based screening tools, and treatments options including development of safety plans and documentation. It will also address organizational concerns, including how micro social workers and administrators can make their organizations more “suicide prevention” ready. Participants will also receive resources for on-going professional development. This training is interactive and requires participant engagement to practice skills introduced in the workshop.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review current trends in suicide rates and attempts
2. Learn about groups at high risk of suicide
3. Identify at least two risk and protective factors in assessing patients with suicide ideation
4. Understand the criteria for 5150/5585 Involuntary Hospitalization.
5. Increase knowledge of suicide screening tools
6. Improve skills in assessment of suicide ideation with low to high risk
7. Learn to develop a safety plan founded on evidence-based practices
8. Assess organization workflow to determine suicide prevention readiness

• complete an approved 6-hour continuing education course in this subject (such as this course.
• obtain certification from their graduate school a minimum of 6 hours of instruction in suicide risk assessment and intervention was provided as part of their coursework or field instruction, or
• obtain certification from their program training director or primary supervisor that they received this 6 hour training as part of their qualifying supervised experience.

For more information, visit: https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/legupdate_18.pdf

Dr. Agahi has over 20 years of experience working in private and public sectors of health and social services. Her area of expertise is in program planning, implementation and evaluation. Her clinical work, research, academic teaching and publications address: alcohol and drug prevention and treatment, high-risk and homeless youth services, crisis response, suicide prevention and treatment, intimate partner violence, stress management/mindfulness and outcome measures in behavioral health. In her clinical role as a LCSW, she has both assessed for suicidality, placed patients on 5150/5585 holds and developed safety plans. As an administrator for both large health and educational organizations, she has developed suicide prevention and postvention policies and provided training in assessment and treatment of suicide ideation and postvention. Also in collaboration with the Orange County Child Death Review Committee, she conducted a retrospective study on completed suicide among youth to better understand risk factors to develop better prevention programs.

Presently, Dr. Agahi is the president of SocialWise Consulting, which covers an array of services critical to organizational development and sustainability; from use of evidence based frameworks to plan, implement and evaluate programs to survey development and grant writing. SocialWise also provides professional development workshops (e.g. mindfulness, stress management, suicide prevention), coaching and clinical supervision. She continues to assist organizations in implementation of screening tools and safety plans in addressing suicide ideation on an organizational level and provide appropriate suicide prevention training to an array of professionals and paraprofessionals. Also, Dr. Agahi teaches part-time at California State University, Fullerton, School of Social Work.

Dr. Agahi received her doctorate from University of Southern California, School of Social Work and holds a dual master’s in Public Health and Social Work from San Diego State University.