How to adress self-harm and suicide at an individual and community level?

Abstract

Background: Eastern European countries exhibit some of the most elevated rates of suicide in the world. According to UNICEF, the suicide rate among adolescents in Moldova is increasing in the last years (by 40% from 2007 to 2011), being 10 times higher among boys than in girls. This situation, it says, requires more active intervention to prevent mental health problems among adolescents, with special attention to boys. Objectives 4. Define the concepts of self-harm and suicide, review some epidemiological data 5. Identify risk factors for self-harm and suicide among adolescents 6. Adopt a systematic approach in dealing with suicidal conducts of adolescents 7. Review some evidence-based preventive strategies of adolescent self-harm and suicide Content: The presentation will review some international data on suicide, focusing on the rates of suicide among adolescents. Using a concept developed and used internationally, it will provide a tool to systematically assess the risk for a young patient of committing suicide, and how to tackle this type of situations. This clinical strategy stresses the appraisal of both risk and protective factors. It also emphasizes the adoption of a network approach to individual treatment and prevention. Then, the presentation will focus on some concrete examples as how to implement strategies to prevent self-harm and suicide, as well as how to create environments which promote mental health and coping strategies among adolescents, building on the session on resilience and empowerment. It will insist on the interest of using media technologies (including phone calls and internet), such as the one used by the Moldavian Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which operates in the evening hours as anonymous chat. Conclusion: By the end of the presentation, participants will have gained more insight in how to develop effective strategies in identifying and addressing situations of adolescent self-harm and suicide, and how to prevent them on an individual and community levels.