Abstract Young people who have experienced complex trauma are at an elevated risk for suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and death by suicide. Advances in the understanding of the intersection between suicidality and complex trauma provide new opportunities for conceptualizing and treating suicidal thoughts and behaviours from a trauma- and dissociation-informed lens. This workshop combines research findings and therapeutic techniques to increase attendees’ skills for addressing suicidality among traumatized children and adolescents.
This session opens with an overview of the evolution of theories for understanding suicidality among young people, with a particular emphasis on the integration of these theories with those of complex trauma and dissociation. The objective is to make visible the hidden functions of suicidality as trauma responses. As this workshop focuses on children and adolescents, it highlights key differences associated with suicidality across developmental stages (i.e., preschool, middle childhood, adolescence), and considers the importance of development across the social, cognitive and neurobiological domains in understanding suicidality among youth. The discussion also distinguishes between suicidality and non-suicidal self-injury, while appreciating their overlapping features and fluidity.
The remainder of the workshop provides trauma- and dissociation-sensitive therapeutic strategies and concrete clinical tools for working with children and youth experiencing suicidality. This includes: assessing suicide risk within the context of other trauma and dissociative symptoms; decreasing risk by assessing for and matching the functions of suicidality with effective interventions that take into account trauma history and dissociative symptoms; and strategies for equipping caregivers to support youth who are at an elevated risk for suicide and/or who are experiencing a suicide crisis. This session also provides a brief overview of the potential roles of psychopharmacology and acute inpatient mental health care in the management of suicidality among traumatized children and adolescents. The workshop will end with an opportunity for attendees to ask questions, and discussions are encouraged.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session participants will be able to:
Describe two key theories for understanding suicidal behavior among young people
Discuss four mechanisms through which complex trauma increases risk for suicidality
Explain three ways in which suicidality differs between children and adolescents
Create a collaborative crisis support plan that accounts for the young person’s symptoms of trauma and dissociation
Apply three strategies for equipping caregivers to support their young person through a suicide crisis
