Everybody’s business- the case for blurring the lines between suicide prevention and health promotion

Research supports a broad preventative approach in reducing the incidence of suicide. Effective strategies to reduce suicide in our communities must include broad health promotion in addition to the more intuitive attention to risk identification and crisis response. Dr. Schulte will describe strategies developed during the last 6 years of suicide prevention programming at Arizona State University, which included a strong emphasis on health promotion strategies. Such “blurring the lines” between what most people think of as suicide prevention and health promotion has sometimes been challenging. However response has suggested that such an approach has helped broaden the perception of suicide prevention as not just an issue for mental health professionals, but as everybody’s business.

 

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will:

•Understand the rationale for health promotion as an important part of suicide prevention.

•Describe specific strategies for health promotion and their relation to suicide prevention.

•Describe strategies that help “make the case” for health promotion as part of a broader suicide prevention programming.

 

Daniel Schulte, Ph.D.

Daniel Schulte, Ph.D. is Associate Director and Director of Training at Arizona State University Counseling Services, where he has worked for the last 8 years. In addition to administrative, clinical and training work at ASU Counseling Services, since 2005 he has also been a coordinator of the ASU “Campus Care” Suicide and Depression reduction program. ASU was among the first cohort of universities to receive SAMHSA funding through a Garret Lee Smith grant, and Dr. Schulte has presented at numerous national conferences related to the “Campus Care” program. Dr. Schulte received his master’s degree in Counseling at the University of Nebraska in 1995, and his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University in 2002. He is licensed as a Psychologist in Arizona, and is also a Nationally Certified Counselor.

Dr. Schulte and his wife have lived in Arizona for the last 14 years. They are the parents of a rambunctious 4 year old, and over the years have also managed several furry and scaly animals.