Suicidology Conference Highlights Suicide Prevention in Popular Culture and Elite Sports
Washington, D.C. (April 20, 2021): The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) is proud to host AAS21, its 54th Annual Conference, April 21 – 24, 2021. The conference will take place via a unique hybrid format – both in person in Orlando, FL at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Hotel and also virtually for those across the globe. AAS will welcome over 2100 attendees from across the world (a record-setting attendance) via this innovative platform, including world-class speakers, experts, and featured events. The Press Kit highlights featured keynote speakers, including Zak Williams, Robin Williams’ son, and many others. AAS is also pleased to announce the inclusion of two new very special panels:
“Our Critical Role in Conversations about Suicide Prevention” featuring Ashley Eckstein, voice of Star Wars’ Ahsoka Tano.
Keynote Panel “Elevating Mental Health in Elite Sport” featuring, Deja Young, Paralympic Gold Medalist in Track and Field and current 2021 Paralympic Hopeful; Steve Mesler, Olympic Gold Medalist in Bobsled, CEO of Classroom Champions, USOPC Board of Directors; Jessica Bartley, Director of Mental Health Services, USOPC; Troy Taylor, High-Performance Director, US Ski & Snowboard; and Shannon Decker, Executive Director, The Speedy Foundation, Advisor to USOPC’s External Mental Health Task Force.
“AAS21 will be unlike any conference we have ever hosted. Our plan to host live sessions in Orlando along with virtual sessions will afford the opportunity to provide the same content expected at an AAS conference. By working with our incredible partners, we’re ensuring an effective and safe conference for everyone,” said Becky Stoll, AAS21 Conference Chair.
We’ll also be featuring a virtual screening of Each and Every Day, an MTV Documentaries and Gidalya Pictures film that follows 9 young adults as they share their experiences surrounding mental health issues and suicide, Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. EST. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s director, Alexandra Shiva, and producer, Lindsey Megrue. Watch the trailer here. AAS consulted during the development of this film and is thrilled to be able to offer it to attendees.
“We know that people are able to recover and grow after a crisis. The global crises of 2020 have disrupted our norms, but they also provide an opportunity for innovative solutions like offering the field a hybrid conference. AAS has always sought to bring people together so that the knowledge from professional and personal experience can be applied to address suicide, and the world needs that more than ever. AAS21 will enable us to safely and effectively bring expertise to the table from around the world,” said DeQuincy Lezine, AAS21 Program Chair.
In a special event at AAS21, Fenway Jones, Founder of Jasper’s Game Day (JGD) will generously present AAS with a check totaling more than $63,000. JGD uses the power and community-building aspects of tabletop gaming, like Dungeons & Dragons, to raise money for mental health, suicide prevention, and crisis intervention organizations. Fenway and JGD have been long-time partners with AAS, effectively helping to spread donations to crisis intervention services across the country, including some of AAS’s accredited crisis centers and providers.
“I’m really excited about the design and structure of this year’s conference as there is something for everyone. From the key in-person networking and conversations that are integral to spurring new collaborative projects to the broadened reach that online options provide, this hybrid approach will not disappoint” said Colleen Creighton, CEO of AAS.
For the Media: Responsible reporting on suicide, including stories of hope and resilience, can prevent more suicides. Please visit the Suicide Reporting Recommendations for more information. For additional information, please visit SuicideReportingToolkit.com.
About AAS: The American Association of Suicidology is the world’s largest membership-based suicide prevention organization. Founded in 1968 by Edwin S. Shneidman, PhD, AAS promotes the research of suicide and its prevention, public awareness programs, public education and training for professionals and volunteers. The membership of AAS includes mental health and public health professionals, researchers, suicide prevention and crisis intervention centers, school districts, crisis center professionals, survivors of suicide loss, attempt survivors, and a variety of laypersons who have in interest in suicide prevention. You can learn more about AAS at www.suicidology.org.
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American Association of Suicidology Welcomes Don Wright to Its Board of Directors
Washington, D.C. (April 12, 2021): The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) is pleased to announce that Don Wright, founder and CEO of Clarigent Health, has joined its Board of Directors. Don’s work involves triangulating mental health metrics from the patient, the clinician, and the company’s proprietary vocal biomarkers technology. This supports earlier detection of risk, continuous monitoring of progress over time, and group-level insights for mental health care organizations. Prior to Clarigent, Don spent the previous decade developing the GeneSight pharmacogenomics product at Assurex Health helping almost two million people get on the right treatment for depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric conditions.
“I am delighted to join AAS who are leading the way in suicide prevention. The need is more urgent than ever and there is much we need to change,” said Wright. “The exciting thing is that we in the healthcare industry are rethinking how mental healthcare is delivered and paid for in the United States, with increasing recognition that mental health is physical health. I look forward to adding my voice to the AAS effort, bringing perspective from my years in industry as well as my lived experience”
Don is the President of the Suicide Prevention Initiative and Depression Research Foundation. He is also the chairman of Inagene Diagnostics, a pharmacogenomics company specializing in mental health and pain treatment. He is the chairman of the Hamilton Mill a Cincinnati area startup accelerator and a member of the board of advisors of OhioX, the board of advisors of the Xavier University Master of Science in Customer Analytics Program, the NKU Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the University of Cincinnati Technology Accelerator for Commercialization, as well as the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Digital Health and Care committee.
“We are excited to have Don join our Board,” said Anthony Wood, AAS Board Chair. “He’s a long-time supporter and suicide prevention champion, having joined us several years ago as a loss survivor. Don is a respected member of the biomedical startup community, not only bringing his proven track record of innovation but also his experience in harnessing research and implementing evidence-based initiatives. His expertise expands the private sector presence on our board. Ensuring professional diversity was identified as a top priority for the long term sustainability of AAS, a core goal for the organization identified during our strategic planning process.”
Don is the father of three children, Justin (who we lost to suicide in 2017), Abigail, and Samuel.
AAS is dedicated to providing representation that effectively communicates the needs and goals of its membership. By continuing to include a diverse roster of individuals who can address these components, AAS, its divisions and committees, and its Board of Directors work strategically to create programs focused on ending suicide in this country and throughout the world.
For the Media: Responsible reporting on suicide, including stories of hope and resilience, can prevent more suicides. Please visit the Media as Partners in Suicide Prevention: Suicide Reporting Recommendations for more information. For additional information, please visit SuicideReportingToolkit.com.
About AAS: The American Association of Suicidology is the world’s largest membership-based suicide prevention organization. Founded in 1968 by Edwin S. Shneidman, PhD, AAS promotes the research of suicide and its prevention, public awareness programs, public education and training for professionals and volunteers. The membership of AAS includes mental health and public health professionals, researchers, suicide prevention and crisis intervention centers, school districts, crisis center professionals, survivors of suicide loss, attempt survivors, and a variety of laypersons who have in interest in suicide prevention. You can learn more about AAS at www.suicidology.org.
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American Association of Suicidology Applauds the Biden Administration for Tackling Gun Violence
Washington, D.C. (April 8, 2021) – The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) expresses its gratitude to the Biden Administration for taking action to curb gun violence and for directly addressing suicide in this context. Suicide is an often-neglected topic in gun violence prevention discussions yet half of all suicides result from the use of a firearm, and a majority of all firearm deaths are suicides. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with this administration and other gun violence prevention organizations to reduce suicides by firearm. Addressing firearm suicides at a national level is critical.
Established in 2018, AAS’s Firearms and Suicide Committee has laid out several priorities in the effort to lower rates of suicide by firearm. This is a promising first step on behalf of the Administration, but we need to continue to fund research to better understand the intersection of firearms and suicide, to study how population scale legislation can affect that intersection, and to effectively implement evidence-based intervention strategies across the country.
“The Biden administration has announced a series of initiatives aimed at reducing the burden of gun violence in America,” said Michael Anestis, PhD, Co-Chair of AAS’s Firearms and Suicide Committee and Executive Director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center. “The American Association of Suicidology is grateful that, in doing so, the administration specifically mentioned firearm suicide. Suicide accounts for nearly two-thirds of all American gun deaths – nearly 25,000 deaths each year – and effectively addressing this issue will require leadership willing to openly acknowledge the problem. Pursuing data-driven solutions like extreme risk protection orders is a meaningful first step and a sign that the Administration is willing to actively pursue data-driven life saving measures to prevent firearm suicide.”
For the Media: Responsible reporting on suicide, including stories of hope and resilience, can prevent more suicides. Please visit the Suicide Reporting Recommendations for more information.
About AAS: The American Association of Suicidology is the world’s largest membership-based suicide prevention organization. Founded in 1968 by Edwin S. Shneidman, PhD, AAS promotes the research of suicide and its prevention, public awareness programs, public education and training for professionals and volunteers. The membership of AAS includes mental health and public health professionals, researchers, suicide prevention and crisis intervention centers, school districts, crisis center volunteers, survivors of suicide loss, attempt survivors, and a variety of laypersons who have in interest in suicide prevention. You can learn more about AAS at www.suicidology.org
Suicides Decrease in 2020, However the Full Picture is Still Not Clear
Washington, D.C. (April 2, 2020) – Preliminary data in a report in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that while there was a 17.7% increase in overall deaths in the US in 2020, there were 2677 fewer suicides (44,834) than those reported in 2019 (47,511). Due to the number of COVID-19 related deaths, suicide dropped to the 11th leading cause of death. It should be noted that this is an estimated total and not final national data as officially reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These data follow reports in 2018 of an increase in suicide rates and 2019 with a smaller decrease in rates after nearly a decade of annual increases in the number of suicide deaths. Previous reports have shown increases in suicide deaths among all demographic groups as well, further illuminating the critical need to fund comprehensive suicide prevention initiatives in the US. After consulting with subject matter experts, the American Association of Suicidology would like to offer the following information.
What we know:
This is a very promising estimate. We hope that this is signaling a trend in lowered suicide deaths in the country and an indication that the efforts of suicide prevention initiatives are effective in lowering suicide rates at population scale.
Some municipalities and locations are reporting higher numbers of suicides in 2020, which indicates that some vulnerable populations exist based on location, access to services, demographic subgroup, or other factors.
What we don’t know:
We don’t know for certain that specific suicide prevention efforts are lowering rates at a national level.
We do not know if these numbers are, as we’ve seen in the past, a result of lowered suicide rates during a time of national crises.
We do not know if some suicides are being masked by COVID deaths in 2020, meaning some of those 2677+ people who would have died by suicide, instead died by COVID or had COVID at the time of their suicide and were characterized as such by coroners/medical examiners.
Overdose deaths also increased in 2020, and it is often hard to distinguish some overdoses from suicides, again possibly masking the true number.
We often focus only on the total number of suicide deaths, however we have very poor mechanisms for capturing the true number of suicide attempts in this country. So while a lowered rate of suicides is a good signal, it doesn’t necessarily indicate a lowered level of despair in the country. In fact, many recent reports have shown higher levels of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression and suicide thoughts in certain demographics.
We should be cautious in celebrating this decrease too early as the data points from 2019 and 2020 do not necessarily indicate a trend. We may see a delayed increase in suicides in 2021 or 2022 similar to what we witnessed following the financial collapse in 2008.
Christopher W. Drapeau, PhD, HSPP, Licensed Psychologist and Adjunct Faculty Member in the Department of Health Policy and Management, IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health provided further explanation:
“It is tempting to conclude that the decreases in suicide for 2019 and the provisional decreases for 2020 reflect our hard work as a field to reduce suicide but surface-level thinking about changes in mortality data can be deceptive. It has long been argued that medicolegal professionals (i.e., medical examiners and coroners) tend to set a higher evidentiary threshold for certifying suicide as a manner of death compared to other manners of death (i.e., natural, accidental, homicide, and undetermined). If this argument holds for most medicolegal professionals across the United States, then it could be argued further that an increase in suicide should be viewed as a more accurate approximation of reality than a decrease given the level of rigor that a confirmed suicide must meet to be certified as such.”
“Additional reasons why it is wise to remain cautious in the wake of recent declines in suicide are due to evidence suggesting that:
suicides are misclassified as other manners of death and significant increases have been observed for unintentional/accidental deaths from 2015 to 2020 (which may be a landing place for misclassified suicides)
suicides are undercounted in areas of the United States that rely on elected coroners for death investigations
suicides are undercounted for specific demographic groups (i.e., Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Women) and certain mechanisms of injury (e.g., poisoning/overdoses, drowning, singular motor vehicle fatalities, etc.)
surveys of Americans show that reports of suicide ideation and other risk factors for suicide have been elevated to a significant degree during the pandemic and evidence showing why deaths by suicide have decreased while risk factors have increased is lacking”
“If the above reasons could be ruled out as explanations for the reported decreases in suicide for 2019 and 2020, then that would provide greater confidence in the conclusion that these decreases are true decreases and that we are doing things across the country that may be moving us in the right direction as a field. The Suicidology listserv discussions over the past few days also show that there are other alternative explanations to test before final conclusions are drawn about the 2019 and 2020 suicide mortality data.”
“It also may be helpful to consider that the morality data, first and foremost, represent the opinion of medicolegal professionals whenever we seek to draw conclusions about changes in mortality data over time. When noticing changes in the mortality data in general (not just suicide), it seems important to first consider whether the practices of medicolegal professionals have changed and if deaths of ambiguous intent have become more prevalent compared to past years. One question in particular that could be explored more thoroughly in the field of suicidology is: How does medicolegal professional understanding of suicide research and/or assumptions about who does and does not die by suicide influence death certifications? (especially when it comes to classifying manner of death across racial and ethnic groups, when deaths are attributed to poisoning, and/or when circumstantial evidence is minimal).”
“Finally, an argument could be made that we focus too much on mortality data as a barometer of our efforts and that there may be value in focusing more on “risk” data (e.g., suicide ideation) and examining how truly upstream efforts impact the year-to-year surveillance data on suicide-related thoughts and behaviors. Thinking big picture, is the purpose of our work to stop suicides from happening (which may compel us to pay more attention to suicide mortality data) or to empower people to the point where suicide becomes irrelevant to them? And if the purpose of suicide prevention is the latter, does mortality data allow us to measure that well?”
There is only speculation as to why suicide rates have fallen in the US. It remains important for the media, suicide prevention, and mental health organizations to communicate to the public that any single explanation for why individuals attempt or die by suicide is insufficient. In fact, it could be detrimental to imply that we can explain its causes without direct scientific evidence to support such claims. Conversely, this means that no single approach to solving the problem of suicide is sufficient, but rather a multidisciplinary, multi-sector strategy is necessary.
Systems for gathering data about suicide deaths, attempts, and ongoing suicidal experiences are significantly underdeveloped and undersupported. The US must establish better epidemiology around suicide, as well as develop innovative methods for collecting data at scale so our best researchers can help us understand what is happening. This specifically includes funding for suicide prevention at the scale of the problem, nationally, regionally, and locally. If we continue to fund suicide prevention research in a piecemeal way, we will never understand its causes or effectively support its prevention at scale. Recent increases in funding for the CDC and NIH are an excellent start but do not reflect the size and scope of the public health crisis.
“We have evidence showing the positive impact of crisis lines, training of healthcare professionals, and maintained contact with people experiencing thoughts of suicide have on decreasing suicide rates, but we need to start increasing our attention and focus on, access to lethal means. ” said Colleen Creighton, CEO of AAS. “By putting space and time between someone experiencing thoughts of suicide and their method, namely firearms, we greatly increase their chances of survival. We see very promising research surrounding firearms safety legislation and its potential to reduce suicide rates at population levels.”
In the US, there is no national requirement for crisis response training among healthcare professionals despite suicide being the 10th leading cause of death. No national standard suicide risk assessment or standardized requirement for suicide care yet exists in the private healthcare system. It is left to individual health systems to make suicide-safer care a priority. Few regulatory bodies are currently invested in the research that would make such standards of care mandatory for every patient or client. Given the scope of the public health crisis of suicide, training and regulatory bodies have much room to improve the systems of care and ensure providers are ready to help someone at risk of suicide.
For the Media: Responsible reporting on suicide, including stories of hope and resilience, can prevent more suicides. Please visit the Suicide Reporting Recommendations for more information.
About AAS: The American Association of Suicidology is the world’s largest membership-based suicide prevention organization. Founded in 1968 by Edwin S. Shneidman, PhD, AAS promotes the research of suicide and its prevention, public awareness programs, public education and training for professionals and volunteers. The membership of AAS includes mental health and public health professionals, researchers, suicide prevention and crisis intervention centers, school districts, crisis center volunteers, survivors of suicide loss, attempt survivors, and a variety of laypersons who have in interest in suicide prevention. You can learn more about AAS at www.suicidology.org.
