Description
Suicide prevention and overall mental health and well-being are critically important for working-aged adults. Workplaces are a relatively untapped environment where prevention, early intervention and referral to treatment can be offered to employees and also their family members. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlights industries and occupations that have higher risks for suicide (Peterson C, 2020). The CDC recommends a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention, including participation from employers.
There are many obstacles to providing suicide prevention care at the workplace and many of them center around stigma about mental health treatment. In response to some of the barriers, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) created the Interactive Screening Program (ISP) to provide an anonymous online screening and counseling dialogue platform for employees. The ISP uses standardized measures for stress and depression, as well as burnout and suicide risk. The screening is often distributed to employees through a broader work/life effort or promotion, but can also be used to target high risk groups, such as nurses during the pandemic (Moutier, 2012; Norcross, 2018). After completing the screening, employees are scored for suicide and broader mental health risk and receive a customized response from a mental health counselor. The employee is encouraged to access more formal help-seeking services when indicated by their risk score, but the ISP allows employees to also remain completely anonymous and dialogue with a counselor who is trained to use motivational interviewing techniques to support and encourage help-seeking behaviors.
The speakers will provide an overview of research on the ISP in the healthcare industry which represents the first study to examine outcomes from using the ISP on help-seeking. The speakers will also provide an interactive demonstration of the ISP and talk about how workplaces, healthcare and other industries, have worked to incorporate anonymous screening and support into their existing mental health and workplace wellness programs.
Instructor
Dr. Jodi Jacobson Frey, PhD, LCSW-C, CEAP is a Full Professor with tenure at University of Maryland, School of Social Work. Dr. Frey chairs the Social Work in the Workplace & Employee Assistance Sub-specialization (formerly EAP Sub-specialization) and the Financial Social Work Initiative. She is the Founder and Faculty Executive Director of the newly launched Behavioral Health and Well-Being Lab (BHWell Lab). Her MSW and PhD degrees were earned from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Frey’s research focuses on workplace behavioral health, including the impact of employee mental health, substance use and well-being on productivity and safety. She studies the effectiveness of employee assistance, work/life, and related programs for working aged adults and their families. She has dedicated a significant portion of her research and advocacy work to suicide prevention, mental health, substance use and recovery and the intersection with the workplace.
Recent refereed articles have been published in JAMA, American Journal of Addictions, Social Work, Journal of Career Development, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Research on Social Work Practice, and Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. Dr. Frey regularly presents her research at national and international conferences. She is the Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health. Dr. Frey also co-founded the International Employee Assistance Digital Archive, housed at the University of Maryland, and which was awarded the Best Use of Technology in the Employee Assistance Field by the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) in 2019.
Dr. Frey co-chairs the Workplace Suicide Prevention and Postvention Committee where she is contributing as a leader in the development and dissemination of the National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention. She is also a past chair of EAPA’s Subcommittee on Workplace Disaster Preparedness and Response. In 2006, Dr. Frey was the recipient of the EAPA President’s Award for Excellence, recognizing her work on this committee.
Maggie G. Mortali, MPH
Senior Program Director
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
Maggie G. Mortali is a Senior Program Director and workplace mental health expert at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Since joining AFSP in 2011, Ms. Mortali established and now leads a department dedicated to AFSP’s workplace initiatives, including the groundbreaking Interactive Screening Program (ISP), an online assessment tool that connects users to the appropriate mental health services. In this role, she has cultivated partnerships with large public and private sector employers, institutions of higher education, and law enforcement agencies to enhance their employee assistance programs (EAPs) and other mental health services.
With over a decade of experience in the suicide prevention field, Ms. Mortali is a recognized thought leader in the use of internet-based technologies to reach at-risk populations who are resistant to seeking help. She speaks regularly at national and regional conferences about her innovative work and has published articles on program evaluation and outcomes, suicide prevention strategies, workplace culture, and employee wellness. She is the co-author of a chapter on suicide prevention in the workplace in the book, Mental Health in the Workplace: Strategies and Tools to Optimize Outcomes. In 2019, she collaborated with the American Association of Suicidology and the United Suicide Survivors International to develop the National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention.
She holds a master’s degree in public health in Prevention Science from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
You can follow Ms. Mortali on Twitter at @MaggieAFSP.
Agenda & Learning Objectives
AGENDA:
| 11:50 - 12:00 |
Registration/Log on |
| 12:00 - 1:30 |
Lecture: |
| 1:30 |
Questions & Adjournment |
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon the completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Participants will be able to describe the goals of the Interactive Screening Program (ISP).
- Participants will be able to describe the components and processes of the ISP and how a workplace can begin to integrate such a program into their employee offerings.
- Participants will learn how an online screening program can help identify individuals at risk and initiate supportive services anonymously.
Bibliography & References
BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES
Moutier, C. N. (2012). The suicide prevention and depression awareness program at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Academic Medicine, 87(3), 320-326.
Norcross, W. A.-K. (2018). Update on the UC San Diego healer education assessment and referral (HEAR) program. Journal of Medical Regulation, 104(2), 17-26.
Peterson C, S. A. (2020). Suicide Rates by Industry and Occupation — National Violent Death Reporting System, 32 States, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:57–62.
Late Fees and Refunds
Fee & Registration:
Cost is $25 and includes CE credit. Registering after October 20, 2022 will incur an additional $20 late fee. *Cancellations must be received 24 hours in advance prior to the live interactive webinar to receive a refund or a credit letter.
*All cancellations will be subjected to a $35.00 administration fee
Target Audience
Social Workers, LCPCs, and Psychologists
All those interested in Topic Welcomed
