Breaking the Social Stigma of Suicide

Lunch N Learn Webinar

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. CT via Zoom

Presenter: Don Ryan

1 CEU (Virtual) - May be counted as Clinical, Ethics or Supervision

Don will outline the clear social stigma of mental health and suicide in our communities, including how media, faith institutions, family of origin issues, and certain traditional models parenting of youth contribute to this problem.  He will examine how this stigma directly affects the healing for those who have lost a loved one to suicide, especially when it comes to grief and challenging the traditional models of grief.  Don will focus on the different social pressures and expectations of certain demographics, including veterans and LGBTQ+ individuals, increasing the risk of suicide to these populations.  Don will examine how community models of suicide prevention can break down this social stigma, with the intention of promoting mental health and lowering the incidence of suicide.  Finally, he will address what we as social workers can do both in our individual practice and in advocating for change in our agencies and communities, to bring about this need for a change in how mental health and suicide are viewed.
 

About the Presenter

Don Ryan, author of The Secret Struggle: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One, will be facilitating this presentation with the scope of both a social worker of more than 30 years and his personal experience of losing three family members to suicide.  The death by suicide of his father in 1989 caused significant guilt and shame as a college senior, while the suicide of his cousin Vinny in 2013 and his youngest brother Brendan in 2022 taught him different lessons of grief, confusion, and anger. 

Pricing and Registration

NASW Members - FREE - Register here (NASW members only)

Not-Yet-Members - $15 - Register here