ABOUT THE LEARNING SESSION

The connection between substance misuse and suicide is apparent. Both suicide and substance-related deaths are on the rise in the US, and we know that substance use increases suicide risk. More than 1 in 5 suicides (22%) in the United States involve alcohol (Substance Abuse and Mental Health ​Services Administration, 2016). An individual with a substance use disorder is more than three times as likely to have suicidal thoughts than a person without a substance use disorder (NSDUH Data Review, 2016​).

Despite these challenging statistics, there are opportunities in this area of intersection. After this presentation, participants will be able to describe the relationship between substance misuse and suicide, detail the critical overlaps and opportunities for collaboration of substance misuse and suicide prevention, and see what this looks like in the field.

Presenter: Jana Boocock, MSW, CAC, CPS, is a senior prevention specialist with EDC’s Suicide Prevention Resource Center. She is an experienced trainer with expertise in behavioral health and wellness, suicide prevention, and substance misuse prevention. In addition to her experience managing state- and community-led prevention initiatives, she has directly supported youth and adults experiencing behavioral health issues within the community. She will be joined in this webinar by Kelsea Tucker, MS, Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Grant Director in the Rhode Island Department of Health, who will share about work in Rhode Island at the intersection of suicide and substance misuse prevention.

About the webinar: This webinar is hosted by the New England PTTC, a program funded through SAMHSA. This webinar is pre-approved by the Maine Prevention Certification Board, an IC&RC member board, for up to 1.5 contact hours for prevention specialists.