Building a safety net: considerations for suicide risk assessment and safety planning in the context of adolescent psychosis
Adolescents are at high risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), and those with mental health concerns including psychosis are at even higher risk. This presentation will outline strategies for assessing the co-occurrence of psychosis and STBs and discuss considerations for safety planning, drawn from clinical observations and pilot data collected from psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents and their caregivers.
As a result of attending this presentation, participants will be able to:
Discuss methods for assessing psychosis-spectrum symptoms and suicidal thoughts and behaviors
Describe strategies to tailor safety planning components specifically to psychosis-spectrum experiences
Summarize feedback from teens and families about the process of safety planning
*For virtual events, a Zoom link will be sent 1-2 days before the presentation.
The more we understand about suicide, the more we can prevent it. AFSP-funded research is essential to our mission of saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. Our research funding goes toward studies from neurobiological, psychosocial, and genetic perspectives, as well as topics including clinical treatment, community intervention, and survivors of suicide loss. Our grants help sponsor young investigators, engage senior researchers in suicide prevention, and foster new ideas from suicide researchers at all levels to build a scientific community.