AVMA: Suicide Prevention 1: How We Communicate Matters

Candid, open discussions about mental health and suicide are vital, and there are safe ways to talk about these important topics. In this session, learn about current communication-based challenges to suicide prevention and better approaches for instilling hope and setting the stage for transformation. Come away with action steps you can take today to facilitate effective conversations about mental health and suicide prevention, increase emotional intelligence, and serve as an agent of hope.  

This webinar is part one of a two-part series exploring the latest research and perspectives on suicide prevention, and ways we can chart a new path forward by working together. Although research about suicide continues to evolve, what we currently know is that suicide is complex and multifaceted—not an inevitable outcome of someone experiencing pain or crisis in their life. Hope and healing are possible.

Participants can expect to learn about:

• The nature of hope
• Communication-based challenges to suicide prevention, including informational noise, the influence of media, deficits-based approaches, and the weaponization of mental health
• Better approaches to communicating about mental health and suicide prevention

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