< Back

World Suicide Prevention Day - The Safe Alternatives for Teens and Youth (SAFETY) Program: Addressing Suicidal Behavior in Youth

The Safe Alternatives for Teens and Youth (SAFETY) Program: Addressing Suicidal Behavior in Youth Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 15 - 24 year-olds in the United States. Prior suicide attempts are one of the strongest predictors of subsequent suicide attempts and suicide deaths in both adolescents and adults, making adolescents with a history of prior suicide attempts a high-risk population in need of intensive suicide prevention efforts. Despite accumulating treatment research and efforts to develop effective treatments, empirically supported treatments for reducing suicide attempt risk in suicidal adolescents remain elusive. Additionally, adolescence as a period of emerging and increasing risk may offer a developmental window of opportunities for early intervention. This presentation will review the recent developments in prevention and intervention strategies to address youth suicide prevention, with a particular focus on engaging schools and parents in these important efforts. This talk will also explore a new intervention developed by Drs. Joan Asarnow and Jennifer Hughes entitled The Safe Alternatives for Teens and Youth (SAFETY) that assists clinicians in addressing both non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behavior in adolescents and the links between the two. The SAFETY intervention aims to reduce the risk of suicide attempts by targeting individual and environmental risk and protective factors using a cognitive behavioral approach. Dr. Hughes received funding from the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to test the SAFETY intervention with 30 treatment-seeking youth with significant self-harm behavior. Youth and families randomized to the SAFETY group received weekly intervention sessions for three months. Dr. Hughes will present a description of the treatment and outcome data from the trails conducted in collaboration with Dr. Asarnow. Jennifer L. Hughes, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor and Licensed Psychologist at the UT Southwestern Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care (CDRC). She is the head of the CDRC Risk and Resilience Network, which aims to build partnerships with DFW schools and youth community organizations to provide mental health promotion and suicide prevention programs, as well as to work together to better understand resilience and risk in youth. This event is being sponsored by AFSP's Northern Chapter and is geared to healthcare professionals.