NSCSW Lunch & Learn: Caregiver needs in suicide prevention

Nova Scotia College of Social Workers

A webinar exploring the Family/Friends of Individuals at Risk of Suicide Training (FIRST) Program with Dr. Sakina Rizvi.

Notice: This webinar was originally planned for September 17, but was rescheduled for September 29. Suicide is a health and social challenge that can impact communities and caregivers in complex ways. While there are resources and supports for individuals experienceing suicidal ideation and thinking, there are often gaps in supports and services for their caregivers, friends, and family. The reality of accessing mental health care for suicide risk is that many are left underserved and under supported. How might social workers and helpers in Nova Scotia better support caregivers of individuals impacted by suicidality? This webinar will share evidence and insights from the Family/Friends of Individuals at Risk of Suicide Training (FIRST) program with Dr. Sakina Rizvi. The FIRST program is an emerging approach to supporting caregivers. The session will highlight the process in which FIRST was developed, key themes and insights from the research, and the next steps for the program, including how social workers and helpers can become involved. <h3>Objectives</h3><h3> </h3><ul><li>Knowledge: Examine, analyze, and understand the systemic issues and barriers to supports of caregivers connected to suicide prevention; Identify, analyze, and understand the FIRST program and lessons learned.</li><li>Skills: Apply and implement strategies and insights from the development and implementation of the FIRST program for support for caregivers and affected others of individuals experiencing suicidality.</li><li>Values: Examine and shift worldviews, beliefs, and feelings related to underlying issues of suicidality; expansion of awareness and care for people disproportionately impacted by suicide.</li></ul> <h3>Speaker</h3><h4> </h4>Dr. Sakina Rizvi is the Chair of the Arthur Sommer Rotenberg (ASR) Suicide and Depression Studies Program at the University of Toronto at St. Michael’s Hospital and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She is also Scientist and Psychotherapist within the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital.Dr. Rizvi’s research focuses on the neurobiology of suicide risk and treatment-resistant depression (TRD), developing and testing novel psychotherapies for suicide and trauma resilience, and creating suicide prevention training for caregivers. The goal of the novel psychotherapies are to design interventions that are effective and more easily implemented into hospital and community settings in order to increase access to care.In addition to her academic and clinical roles, Dr. Rizvi is committed to public education through the creative arts. She led the development of What It Takes to Make It Through: Stories of Suicide Loss and Resilience (2021), a powerful collection of first-person stories aimed at destigmatizing suicide and highlighting the importance of trauma-informed support. <h3>Eligibility</h3> <h4>NSCSW members</h4> All active, associate, retired associate, and student members of the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers are welcome to attend; our professional development programming is part of our member services funded by annual registration fees. <h4>Community partners</h4> All allied practitioners and helpers in Nova Scotia/Mi'kma'ki are eligible to sign up for a $5.00 community partner ticket, as are social workers in other places; just let us know your profession or affiliation when you register. <h3>Related Code of Ethics &amp; Standards of Practice</h3> <h4>NSCSW (2025):</h4> <ul><li>Value 1: Respecting the Dignity and Worth of All People</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 1.1: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of all People.</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 1.2: Social workers promote the self-determination and autonomy of all People.</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 1.3: Social workers uphold the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all People consistent with applicable rights and legislation.</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 1.6: Social workers uphold the rights of all People to receive services in a manner that considers intersecting factors of exclusion and respects all manner of diversity.</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 1.7: Social workers respect the rights of service users to make decisions based on voluntary consent when possible.</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 1.8: Social workers uphold the rights of every person, group, and community to be free from violence or threat of violence.</li></ul><ul><li>Value 2: Promoting Social Justice</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 2.1: Social workers uphold the principles of social justice related to the rights of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities to receive fair and equitable access to services, resources, and opportunities and to be free of oppression, racism, and discrimination.</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 2.4: Social workers advocate for the rights of all individuals, families, groups, and communities to be free from oppression, exclusion, racism, and discrimination.</li></ul><ul><li>Value 4: Valuing Relationships</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 4.1: Social workers place the well-being and interests of all People at the center of their relationships.</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 4.2: Social workers continually develop self-awareness and practise self-reflection to guide their practice and personal well-being.</li></ul><ul><li>Value 5: Preserving Integrity in Professional Practice</li></ul><ul><li>Guiding Principle 5.1: Social workers act with integrity, are honest, responsible, trustworthy, and accountable.</li></ul> <h3>Professional development tracking</h3>For members of NSCSW, participating in this event is eligible to fulfill the annual requirement for the Formal Professional Development. Visit <a href="http://nscsw.org/pd" title="http://nscsw.org/pd" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">nscsw.org/pd</a> for more information about the updated professional development requirements for Nova Scotia social workers. <h3>Questions?</h3>If you have questions about our professional development program content, please contact the College's Professional Development Consultant, Tyler Colbourne, at tyler.colbourne@nscsw.org.

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NSCSW Lunch & Learn: Caregiver needs in suicide prevention

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