Preparing Professionals to Assess and Respond to Suicide Risk
Training at a Glance
Who This Course is For - Individuals seeking to enhance skills in the assessment and management of suicide risk
Dates for This Training - October 28โ29, 2026
Early Bird Rate | Standard Rate $375
Course Specifics - In-person
Upcoming Dates
Pricing
Trainers
Gwen Abney-Cunningham, LMSW *
Gwen Abney-Cunningham, LMSW, is currently the Director of Faculty Relations at Behavioral Tech. In this role she ensures that those providing training and consulting on behalf of BTECH do so with the most current information available and employ the most effective methods in their endeavors, Gwen also provides training and consultation to mental health professionals in empirically supported behavioral treatments. She facilitates and/or co facilitates workshops teaching Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to various audiences across the world, including state and county mental health systems.
Prior to coming to Behavioral Tech full time, she was employed at a community mental health agency for 32 years, in many roles, including DBT Services Supervisor, Outpatient Services Director, and most recently as Evidenced Based Treatment Director. Gwen received her bachelorโs degree from Hope College and her MSW from Grand Valley State University. She has 34 years of professional experience and is a member of one of the first teams in the U.S. to apply DBT within an ACT program. Gwen is intensively trained in DBT and an experienced workshop leader at state, national, and international conferences. Gwen continues to work as a DBT therapist because it is effective and the hope it brings to clients and their families. As a BTECH Trainer and consultant, she is also able to assist many mental health providers in learning the treatment to assist in helping many individuals.
Gwenโs experience in DBT includes individual and skills training for adults, adolescents and families and providing DBT supervision to clinicians. In addition, she has assisted in the development and implementation of DBT on ACT teams and in outpatient settings. Gwen has been involved with the large-scale implementations of DBT in Michigan for Community Mental Health settings. She has been a Behavioral Tech trainer for 20 plus years.
Gwen is currently serving on the curriculum development team and Behavioral Tech Trainer Advisory Committee. She has also served on the Behavioral Tech Implementation Science Workgroup.
More About This Training
- Full Training Description
- Learning Objectives
- Prerequisites
- CE/CME Information
- Study Resources
- Technical Requirements
- Additional Information
- Detailed Schedule
Purpose: The purpose of this workshop is prepare human services professionals with the skill-set necessary to help persons at risk of suicide.
Content: This workshop provides an overview of the primary tools available for suicide risk assessment and management.
Length & Schedule:ย This 2-day workshop includes 8 training segments for a total of 12 training hours. Methods of instruction include lecture, clinical case illustrations, demonstration of strategies, discussion, and participant practice.
For Whom: The workshop is intended for a wide variety of human services professions including healthcare, education, and law enforcement. In contrast toย DBT Foundationalย andย DBT Intensive Training, which focus on the ongoing treatment of people at risk for suicide, this workshop has the broader scope of managing specific episodes of suicide-related behaviors.
BTECH offers an additional workshop,ย Strengthening Suicide Risk Assessment and Management in DBT, specifically targeting DBT therapists who are providing ongoing treatment for persons at risk for suicide.ย While there is some overlap in the content of these two workshops, the target audiences are distinct. This workshop focuses on human services professionals who have periodic interactions with persons at risk for suicide, while the other workshop focuses on those who are trained in DBT and providing services on an ongoing basis to patients.
As a result of this training, participants will be able to:
- Define the most recent terms used in the filed of suicideology.
- Identify personal beliefs and values regarding suicide.
- Compassionately manage personal reactions to suicide-related behavior and suicide.
- Identify the long-term and acute risk factors for suicide.
- Describe the role of different professionals regarding suicide risk management.
- Identify evidence-based screening tools for suicide risk.
- Implement screening tolls for suicide risk.
- Document the acute and long-term risk factors for suicide.
- Talk with individuals in a manner that facilitates assessment of suicide risk.
- Practice assessing for suicide risk.
- Identify best practice guidelines for suicide risk management.
- Identify the steps in safety planning.
- Describe the steps involved in suicide crisis management.
- Identify the step-by-step suicide crisis protocol.
- Determine necessary environmental interventions for persons at risk for death by suicide.
- Make appropriate referrals for persons at risk for death by suicide.
- Implement an evidence-based protocol for intervening in suicide crisis situations.
- Effectively respond to ongoing suicidal behavior during interactions with persons at risk for suicide.
- Identify appropriate interventions, services, and referrals for persons at risk for suicide.
- Make informed decisions about how to proceed with referrals for persons at risk for suicide.
- Identify personal and professional skills and strategies for engaging in self-care when interaction with persons at risk for suicide.
This training is for individuals seeking to enhance skills in the assessment and management of suicide risk.ย No prior training is necessary.
This offering meets the requirements for the following hours by discipline. Licensing and continuing education requirements vary by state. Please contact your state’s regulatory authority to verify if this course meets your licensing or continuing education requirements. Inquiries regarding CE for other disciplines not listed may be directed to Behavioral Tech at (206) 675-8589 or via email to [email protected]. And for general CE questions, you can review answers to continuing education FAQs or contact us.
CE NOTE: Behavioral Tech calculates the continuing education credits for this training by the start time and end time. 100 percent attendance is required, as is signing IN and OUT each morning and afternoon, to receive CE credits. Only participants with 100% attendance, and who have completed the Post-Event Evaluation and passed their Final Exam with a score of 75% or higher will receive credit. Behavioral Tech cannot offer partial credit. Please remember to sign in and sign out each day to document your attendance. Continuing Education documentation will be emailed to you 4-6 weeks after the last day of training.
Mental Health Counselors
Behavioral Tech is approved by an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEPโข) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements. The ACEP solely is responsible for all aspects of the program.
Behavioral Tech will email you a letter documenting your attendance upon the successful completion of the activity. The allocated clock hours for this activity = 12.
Nurses
Behavioral Tech is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Nurses should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Continuing Medical Education is accepted by the ANCC for nursing certification renewal. The maximum AMA PRA Category 1 Creditsโข designated by Behavioral Tech for this activity = 12.
Psychiatrists
Behavioral Tech is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. The maximum AMA PRA Category 1 Creditsโข designated by Behavioral Tech for this activity = 12.
Psychologists
Behavioral Tech is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Behavioral Tech maintains responsibility for the program and its content. Behavioral Tech will email you a letter documenting your attendance after the successful completion of the program and homework. The number of hours Behavioral Tech has allocated for this activity = 12.
Psychologists โ New York
Behavioral Tech is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists, #PSY-0063. Behavioral Tech will email a certificate of attendance upon 100% completion of this activity. The total contact hour allocated for this activity = 12.
Social Workers- Washington
Behavioral Tech will apply to the NASW, Washington State Chapter, Provider Number 1975-166, to offer continuing education for Certified Social Workers. Behavioral Tech will email a certificate of attendance upon 100% completion of this activity. The hours of CE allocated for this activity = 12.
Social Workers – New York
Behavioral Tech is approved by recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers, #0040. Behavioral Tech will email a letter documenting attendance to participants with 100% completion of the program and homework. The hours allocated for this activity = 12.
General CE/CME Disclosures and Policies
Conflict of interest definition: A conflict of interest may be considered to exist if a continuing education course faculty is affiliated with, or has any significant financial interest, in any organization(s) that may have a direct interest in the subject matter of the presentation or may be co-sponsoring or offering financial support to the course. Situations involving a potential conflict of interest are not inherently bad or wrong, but in accordance with standards for continuing medical education we would like you to be aware of the affiliation/financial interest of your instructors.
Faculty Disclaimer: When an unlabelled use of a commercial product, or an investigative use not yet approved for any purpose is discussed during an educational activity, we shall require the speaker to disclose that the product is not labeled for the use under discussion or that the product is still investigative.
Notice of requirements for successful completion: For all trainings (both in-person and remote), participants must attend 100% of the training and complete the Final Evaluation to receive a certificate of successful completion. This includes signing in and out each day/session of the event. For remote, Instructor-led online training, participants have to pass the Post Assessment(s) with a score of 75% or higher.
Commercial support or sponsorship: There is no commercial company support for this CME/CE event.
Noncommercial Sponsor Support: There is no noncommercial sponsor support for this CME/CE activity.
Non-Endorsement of Products: The Behavioral Tech approval status refers only to continuing education activities and does not imply that there is real or implied endorsement of any product, service, or company referred to in this activity nor of any company subsidizing costs related to the activity.
Off-Label Product Use: This CME/CE activity does not include any unannounced information about off-label use of a product for a purpose other than that for which it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships: Faculty members are required to disclose all conflicts of interest and any relevant financial relationships that may affect the training content. Unless specified on Behavioral Techโs website or on other printed materials/media, none of the individuals in a position to control the content of this CE/CME activity (including planners, editors, CE/CME Review Committee members, faculty presenters, moderators/facilitators, reviewers, etc.) have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.
CE Reprint Policy: For missing/lost CE documentation, an administrative fee of $50 is required for all CE/CME activities after 2017. For CE reprints prior to 2017, please refer to the website or contactย [email protected]. Please refer to the CE FAQ webpage:ย Continuing Education Credits โ Behavioral Tech Institute
Technical Requirements
Our Online Portal (powered by Thinkific) will be used to share materials and collect participantsโ surveys and assignments.
For live, remote, instructor-led trainings, the online portal will also host the live Zoom sessions. For onsite training, the online portal will be used in conjunction with the training content covered during the onsite event.
All participants should have the following confirmed prior to the start of the training. Please note that all the following items may not be applicable for your training event (i.e., Zoom is not used for onsite training):
- A high-speed Internet Service Connection with a minimum speed of 5Mbps. Test your internet speed.
- The most recent version of any of the following web-browsers: Google Chrome, Firefox , Safari , Microsoft Edge (Please note Internet Explorer will not be supported)
- Web-browser configurations must have Javascript enabled and popup blockers disabled.
- The following software applications: Zoom, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, A PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, or the ability to view PDFs in a web-browser. To test your internet connection, camera, and microphone for Zoom, you can use Zoomโs testing application.
- No firewall restrictions. If a firewall is installed, please be aware that may interfere with the training content and materials, as it may be blocked. Please include the following 3rd party services to trusted sites list(s):
- Thinkific Learning Management System: https://behavioraltech.thinkific.com/
- SurveyMonkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/
- Zoom: https://zoom.us
Corvallis School District: 1555 SW 35th St. Corvallis, OR 97333<br />
Schedule for October 28, 2026; other dates may differ. Corvallis School District October 28-29, 2026 Training Times: October 28: 8:00 AM-3:00 PM PT | 30 MIN break, lunch will be provided October 29: 8:00 AM-4:00 PM PT| 1 HR break, lunch is not provided. Preparing Professionals to Assess and Respond to Suicide Risk
To learn more about the types of training and consultation that BTECH offers,ย visit our Training Catalog here.
Not finding the training youโre looking for? Check out ourย services for agencies and systemsย to learn if we can bring a training to you!