Suicide Prevention: The psychology, the trauma, the survivors, the media, the stigma, the methodology & safety

TAUNTON, MA, UNITED STATES, June 3, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The United States is still reeling from the trauma of mass shootings. Within that violence were a number of murder-suicides that left too many voices still unheard, too many stories still untold, and too many families buried under neighborhood, community and national prejudice, discrimination and judgement. It’s long past time to bring this public health issue out of the shadows and shatter that taboo laden silence. Talk saves lives, so let’s talk

On Friday, June 4th, Dr. Mike Anestis will clarify how and why firearms play a central role in firearm suicide. Dr. Anestis stated that, "Nearly two-thirds of all firearm deaths in the United States are suicide deaths and more than half of all suicide deaths are by firearms. This is true even though firearms are used in less than 5% of all suicide attempts. When someone in the US attempts suicide, they almost never use a firearm and yet, when someone in the US dies by suicide, often a firearm caused that death. Fortunately, we are learning more about how firearms increase the risk for suicide and what we can do to decrease that risk." Dr. Anestis will detail this information to provide a roadmap for how the US can meaningfully and sustainably reduce the national suicide rate through a direct and data driven focus on firearms.

This webinar is part of an 8-part webinar/livestream series on “The Complexity of Murder-Suicide” that launched on May 6th with Dr. Thomas Joiner presenting “The Psychology of Murder-Suicide,” followed by a May 15th livestream with Dr. Kathleen carterMartinez on “Trauma: The Great Equalizer.” Dr. carterMartinez was followed by Stephanie Willard, a bereaved survivor of a murder-suicide on May 21st and Dr. Bart Andrews and Eric Kussin discussed media’s role on May 27th.

Dr. Mike Anestis is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center https://gunviolenceresearchcenter.rutgers.edu/ and an Associate Professor of Urban-Global Public Health at Rutgers University. His research focuses primarily on the role of firearms in suicide, both within the military and among civilians. He has published over 160 peer reviewed scientific articles as well as the book “Guns and Suicide: An American Epidemic.” https://www.amazon.com/Guns-Suicide-American-Michael-Anestis/dp/0190675063. In 2018, Dr. Anestis received the Edwin Schneidman award from the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) in recognition for early career achievement in suicide research. Recently, Dr. Anestis led a randomized controlled trial of lethal means counseling for firearm owning members of the Mississippi National Guard and his recent work has focused heavily on how best to effectively develop messaging on safe firearm storage for suicide prevention.

WHO: Dr. Mike Anestis, Executive Director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center

WHAT: a 2-hour live webinar

WHEN: Friday June 4th, 2021, at 2:00 pm EDT/11:00 am PT

WHERE: Virtual

HOW: Register here, $30.00 - http://www.avoiceatthetable.org/store.html
Registration will remain open until noontime EDT June 4th.

For more details on the additional webinars and livestreams in this 8-part series:
http://www.avoiceatthetable.org/tapestryofvoices.html

“The Complexity of Murder-Suicide – A Tapestry of Voices” is a production of A Voice at the Table, a grassroots movement for families impacted by the suicidal experiences of loved ones. Producers are Annemarie Matulis and Tracey Medeiros.

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 A Voice at the Table: A Voice at the Table http://www.avoiceatthetable.org/index.html was founded in 2014 as a companion to the documentary, A Voice at the Table https://vimeo.com/92330799 - A call to action to bring the lived experience voices of suicide attempt survivors to all tables within suicide prevention, intervention and postvention. As a grassroots movement, it has since expanded and become the national "home base" forum for the family & friends emotionally impacted & traumatized by the suicidal experiences of loved ones. A movement: a group of people working together to advance their shared ideas. A forum: a place, meeting or medium where ideas and views on a particular concern can be exchanged, in this case, nationally and internationally. For more information: director@avoiceatthetable.org

Annemarie Matulis
A Voice at the Table
director@avoiceatthetable.org