Understanding Suicide: From Understanding Suicidal Despair to Effective Response - December 17, 2026

A 6-Hour Training with Sarah Gaer, MA

8:30am-3:45pm

130 Pembroke Road, Suite 150, Concord, NH 03301

Presentation: Suicide is a complex and multifactorial event that cannot be understood through a single diagnosis, experience, or risk factor. The first portion of this training builds a foundational understanding of suicidal despair, populations at elevated risk, intersecting risk factors, preferred language, and the role that access to highly lethal means can play in suicide outcomes. Participants explore theoretical frameworks including Joiner’s Interpersonal Theory of Suicide and the Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) Model, as well as the ways trauma and adverse childhood experiences, substance use, problem gambling, legal involvement, occupation, age, gender, and veteran status may intersect with suicide risk.

The second portion moves from understanding suicide to responding to suicide risk in practice. Participants examine professional considerations related to liability, documentation, routine screening, direct and nonjudgmental inquiry, trauma-informed communication, and intervention and safety. The course provides an introduction to the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), lethal means safety, the Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention, and warm handoffs during transitions of care. Participants are also introduced to suicide-focused treatment approaches discussed in the training, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (BCBT), and CAMS. These approaches are presented as an overview and require additional specialized training for clinical implementation.

As a result of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Explain how the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide and the Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) Model provide frameworks for understanding suicidal intensity and the progression from suicidal ideation to suicidal behavior;
2. List at least three examples of preferred, non-stigmatizing language when discussing suicide and suicidal behavior;
3. Describe the purpose and introductory principles of CAMS, lethal means safety, and the Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention; and
4. Identify the core components of the Stanley-Brown Safety Plan, including warning signs, internal coping strategies, social supports, professional resources, and making the environment safer.

Break Information: This training includes two-15 minutes breaks and a 45-minute lunch. Exact break and meal schedule is at the discretion of the presenter and may vary.

6 Contact Hours Available

CRSW Performance Domains: 1-2 & 4
LADC/MLADC Categories of Competence: 4-8 & 15-18
Certified Prevention Specialist Domains: 2 & 6
NBCC: LICSW/L-MFT/LCMHC (Category A) & Psychologist (Category A) 

NH Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors Association has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider. ACEP No 6754. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. NHADACA is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.

This course has been approved by New Hampshire Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors Association (NHADACA), as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #23792, NHADACA is responsible for all aspects of the programming.

This training is financed under a contract with the State of NH, Department of Health and Human Services, with funds provided in part by the State of NH and/or such funding sources as were available or required, e.g., the United States Department of Health and Human Services.