Older Adults & Suicide Prevention

C3 - Reducing Suicide Risk for Middle-aged and Older Men

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Location: Gaylord National, National Harbor 11

Workshop Presenter(s)

John L. Bennett, II, LCSW-R

Vice President, Behavioral Health
Access: Supports for Living
Middletown, New York
Cathey Duryea, LCSW

Regional Director, Behavioral Health
Access: Supports for Living
Middletown, New York
Jessica Perk-Alvarez, LMSW

Clinical Process Improvement Coordinator
Access: Supports for Living
Newburgh, New York

Slides

One in four suicide attempts among middle-aged and older men is fatal, a rate 25 times higher than other groups at risk. Intervention is complicated by factors like non-disclosure of suicidal thoughts during assessment, under-utilization of behavioral health and health services and mainstream assessment tools and treatment options that have not included middle-aged or older men in development and research. Learn about a supplemental screening tool for assessing suicide risk, along with a treatment recommendations for men at risk for suicide based on real-life experience.

Learning Objectives:

The current situation with suicide risk among middle-age and older men, along with barriers to successful screening and intervention.
Quality assurance methods employed to develop an understanding of agency-specific challenges in identifying and treating suicide risk among middle-age and older men.
Procedures used to develop an alternate screening and treatment method with this population and preliminary results from this intervention.