On February 15, 2023, Dr. Pamela Morris-Perez of New York University offered a free webinar, “Adolescent Suicide Prevention 101: Bringing the Science to Families, Teachers and Pediatricians” presented by the Alan Hu Foundation.
3:48 My Story
5:15 New World; New Language
9:20 What is suicide? What causes it?
21:05 What Works Universally in Suicide Prevention?
28:15 Directing Change: Suicide Prevention “Disguised as a Film Contest”
34:21 What can parents and teachers and providers can do to prevent suicide?
43:23 Don’t try to fix or problem-solve, just try to understand
48:52 The Love Vestibule
50:48 Q&A
Dr. Morris-Perez explained: “Suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts are far more common than many realize and are likely to be exacerbated in the wake of COVID-19. The prevailing suicide prevention paradigm entails identification and treatment within the formal mental health system, largely disconnected from the places and people where adolescents spend most of their time.” In this presentation, Dr. Morris-Perez offered an introductory understanding of adolescent suicide and suicide prevention. She demystified adolescent suicide, discussed why it is ok (and important) to ask directly about suicide, and shared what works in schools, homes, and pediatricians’ offices as entrees into mental health services (i.e., a “no wrong door” approach). The goal of this talk was to empower parents, teachers, and pediatricians to have the knowledge to ask and respond to adolescents’ suicidal thinking, and to help more adolescents get the care they need more quickly in hope that doing so will save more lives.
Dr. Pamela Morris-Perez is a Professor of Applied Psychology at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and an Affiliated Professor at the NYU School of Global Public Health. An interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. Morris-Perez conducts research at the intersection of developmental psychology, suicidology, education, and policy. Her newest research, borne from the loss of her 17-year-old daughter to suicide in 2019, addresses adolescent suicide from a developmentally informed, population-health perspective as part of the newly launched center, ARCADIA (A Research Center for Adolescent Interconnected Approaches) for Suicide Prevention. With over $6M in funding from the William T. Grant Foundation and NIMH, she brings prevention to the spaces where youth are – schools and emergency departments – to help more youth connect to care more quickly.
Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities (MHACC) https://www.mhacc-usa.org collaborated with Alan Hu Foundation to provide instant Chinese interpretation.
We were honored and privileged that Dr. Morris-Perez shared the knowledge and experiences of adolescent suicide prevention. We were grateful to our audience for tuning in across United States as well as from Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, and Taiwan. Thank you, MHACC Founder and President Elaine Peng. Thank you, Ida Shaw, for simultaneous Chinese Interpretation.