Lenape Valley Foundation is hosting its annual Suicide Prevention Conference on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Spring Mill Manor in Ivyland, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The conference, which is sponsored by the Vesta Fund and the Bucks County Suicide Prevention Task Force, aims to provide current information and best practices in suicide prevention. Renowned speakers will provide information and answer questions that will be beneficial to professionals, educators, first responders, counseling and nursing professionals, family members and the community.
Opening remarks will be made by Dave Herold, LVF’s CEO, and Diane Ellis-Marseglia, vice chair, Bucks County Board of Commissioners. Conference speakers and topics include the following:
- Dale Adair, MD, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services chief psychiatric officer and the medical director for the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services — Crisis Continuum: Where Are We, Where Are We Going, and How Do We Get There?
- Anne Bodmer Lutz, BSN, MD, executive director of The Institute for Solution-Focused Therapy — Transdisciplinary Solution-Focused Safety Assessment: Cope is one letter away from Hope
- Vanessa McGann, PhD, psychologist in New York City, and Paula Marchese, LCSW, psychotherapist in private practice in New York and New Jersey — Impact of Patient Suicides on Clinicians
Afternoon breakout session topics and speakers include:
- Vanessa McGann, PhD, and Paula Marchese, LCSW — Postvention Protocols After Suicide Loss
- Corey Leaper, LPC, LVF director of assertive community treatment — Navigating the Complexities of Psychosis and Suicide
- Nicole Wolf, M.Ed., LVF director of education and training, and Kristopher Thompson, LCSW, LVF chief operations officer — QPR Certification
- Anne Bodmer Lutz, BSN, MD — Empowering Connections: Solution-focused VIP Mapping to Address the Loneliness Epidemic
- Patricia Johnson, LPC, LVF outpatient therapist, and Samantha Heeren, LPC, LVF outpatient therapist — Discussing Suicide with Children: Helping Caregivers Talk About Suicide and Suicide Prevention
The conference is open to the public and includes a continental breakfast, lunch and a vendor resource/networking fair. Online reservations are required at $50 a person. All attendees will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion of the course evaluation. The program has been approved for 5.25 CE contact hours by the PA State Board of Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, is ACT 48 eligible, and has been approved for 5.5 EMS/CPC credits and 6.5 CLEE credits for law enforcement.
To register or to learn more about the speakers, visit LVF2024SPC.eventbrite.com. For additional information, call Suzanne Rhodeside at 267-893-5280 or email suzanne.rhodeside@lenapevf.org.
For more information on Lenape Valley Foundation and its services, visit lenapevf.org or call 215-345-5300.
