2013 APA President-elect Nadine Kaslow, PhD, ABPP, will host a webcast on children’s suicide prevention as part of the Child Mind Institute’s Speak Up for Kids initiative on May 15 from 9-10 a.m. Kaslow’s presentation, Suicidal Youth and their Families: Overcoming Barriers to Receiving Help, will include time for questions from viewers. Her talk is one of the campaign’s 15 live webcasts providing expert information on addiction, bullying, juvenile justice, stigmas, stress, resiliency and more.

“As a teenager, I personally witnessed the devastating toll suicide takes on families and friends when the mother of a close friend of mine took her own life. As a society, if we are going to prevent the tragic and untimely deaths of so many young people by suicide, we have to ensure that youth and their families are aware of the warning signs, know how to talk about suicide and what to do when someone is suicidal, and have access to quality behavioral health care and the assistance they need. We also must work together in our communities to reduce the stigma associated with getting behavioral health services,” said Kaslow, an Emory University professor and chief psychologist of Atlanta’s Grady Health System. Her presentation will explore the reasons why families may not seek care as well as the difficulties in trying to find appropriate care for suicidal youth and for families after the suicide of a child.

APA encourages group participation in the webcast, using the association’s discussion guide for additional information and to facilitate conversations in their own communities based on Kaslow’s talk.

See also

• Psychologists and others needed to speak up for children’s mental health 

• American Psychological Association Elects Emory Professor Nadine Kaslow as 2014 President