Pre-Conference Workshop

Self-Directed Violence Risk Identification through to Management: The Path Toward Prevention

PRESENTER: Dr. Brianne Layden

DATE: June 15, 2026

TIME: 9am - 5pm

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS: 7 credits

COST: $500 CAD (includes 2 catered coffee breaks; lunch NOT included)

DESCRIPTION: 

Self-directed violence (SDV) is a form of violence (World Health Organization [WHO], 2002) that places a significant systemic burden on medical and mental health organizations worldwide. In 2014, the WHO published Preventing Suicide: A Global Imperative in an effort to encourage countries to prioritize suicide prevention and reduction, and to develop national strategies to achieve these goals. Although rates of suicide have declined or plateaued in some countries, rates of suicide have not shown the same rate of decline in all nations and, in some cases, have increased (e.g., Americas) (United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025; WHO, 2025; Government of Canada, 2026). Since 2019, the WHO has published additional initiatives to hasten progress toward global suicide reduction, including the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP, Version 2) and LIVE LIFE: An Implementation Guide for Suicdie Prevention in Countries (2021) which recommend nations and health systems develop procedures for early identification, comprehensive assessment, and long-term management of SDV.

This workshop will review a definition of SDV consistent with international guidelines, such as those put forth by the WHO, that facilitates identification and management of SDV, which special attention paid to diversity considerations. In addition, a brief overview of recent case law (Nguyen v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology., 2018; R v. Lofstrum, 2020) and literature (e.g., Obegi, 2017) will be provided to facilitate understanding of the definition and scope of SDV, as well as to highlight professional responsibilities across civil and criminal forensic contexts. The primary focus of the workshop, however, will be to review various approaches to SDV identification (e.g., tracking, screening, triage), comprehensive assessment (e.g., actuarial, structured professional judgment), and management strategies that will help forensic mental health institutions and professionals better meet their professional responsibilities with respect to SDV prevention. The workshop will include a discussion of specific identification (e.g., SAD PERSONS; Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale; Self-Directed Violence Risk Triage) and comprehensive assessment tools (e.g., Guidelines for Preventing Self-Directed Violence). Case discussions and examples will be utilized to demonstrate challenges and promising practices across the various identification and assessment approaches.

In sum, this workshop is designed to help professionals across diverse forensic mental health settings consider case law, legislation, literature, and professional responsibilities (e.g., codes of conduct) regarding SDV to determine what actions, at minimum, may be required to reduce liability and facilitate prevention of self-directed violence and which tools may help them to achieve these objectives. The target audience for this workshop will include service providers and managers, including but not limited to psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, licensed mental health clinicians, forensic evaluators, and other professionals that engage in risk assessment and management across a variety of settings, such as criminal and civil mental health, health care, and criminal justice settings.

The first portion of the workshop reviews conceptual and definitional issues regarding self-directed violence and outlines the nature of the problem globally, as well as within specific settings and populations. Participants will become familiar with examples of SDV and how to comprehensively define SDV with special attention to diversity considerations. The morning will end with a review of relevant case law, codes of conduct, and literature relevant to understanding professional responsibilities with respect to SDV. The afternoon will focus on a review of various approaches and specific tools for identifying, comprehensively assessing, and managing SDV. Case discussions and examples will be utilized to demonstrate challenges and promising practices across various identification and assessment approaches.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:  

1. Define the concept of self-directed violence (SDV), with special attention to diversity considerations

2. Detail professional responsibilities regarding self-directed violence across various context

3. Describe and differentiate approaches to SDV identification including screening, tracking, and triage

4. Describe and differentiate methods of comprehensive assessment and management

5. Describe structured professional judgment (SPJ) guidelines for the prevention of SDV