Navigating Suicidality: A Mindfulness Approach to Applying Ethical Principles

Description

This workshop is designed to augment doctoral level education in working with suicide ideation in therapy. It builds on foundational training in ethical principles and deepens self-awareness of the challenges to staying present and grounded in current standards of care when fear and stress are evoked for the therapist. Current relevant research and literature in this area will be utilized as a framework to introducing this approach. Much is asked of mental health providers in treating suicidality in clients. Close adherence to the complex interplay of professional standards of care, laws, risk management strategies, and the APA Code of Ethics, including the principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and respecting patient autonomy to ensure competent care is important. Given the stressful nature of the work, strengthening the skills needed to remain present, reflective, collaborative, and self-aware, mindfulness practices can be an important tool in enhancing the treatment of patients with suicide ideation. This program will discuss ways to apply mindfulness skills in working with suicide ideation both in the exploration of the therapist’s own reactions to suicidal clients and to ensure intentional interventions that are grounded in the literature, collaborative, transparent, and adhere to ethical standards. There will be opportunities for group discussion as well as practice and exercises for individual reflection to strengthen learning.

Target audience: Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists.

Instructional level of activity: Intermediate

The content and materials in this program may include interventions and treatment modalities that are beyond the scope and practice of your profession. You are responsible for reviewing and knowing the scope and practice of your profession, as defined by law and your profession’s standards.

Educational Objectives

Participants will be able to:

Define mindfulness and identify three ways in which it can enhance the therapeutic relationship and therapy outcomes;
Identify specific ethical principles relevant to the effective treatment of clients with suicide ideation;
Identify and implement steps to using mindfulness skills in the application of ethical principles as an integral component of collaborative treatment approaches to suicide ideation.

Program Schedule:

9:00 – 10:15 am Introduction to current literature on collaborative and relational approaches to working with suicide ideation
Overview of relevant ethical principles to this framework
Introduction to mindfulness practice and research on the connection between a mindfulness approach to
therapeutic intervention and improved therapy outcome and alliance building
Introduction to specific mindfulness skills
10:15 – 10:30 am Break (does not count toward CE credit time)
10:30 – 12:15 pm Guided exercise to practice mindfulness skills
Guided individual reflection exercise to identify reactions/attitudes toward working with suicide ideation
Exercise to apply ethical principles to a case vignette, using the principle of respecting patient autonomy as the goal/intention
Individual exercise to use insights to make a plan/guide for approaching suicide ideation from a mindful,
ethically-grounded, and collaborative perspective
Ethical considerations, limitations of the research and potential risks, discussion

Presenter

Marilia Marien, PhD
Marilia Marien is a licensed psychologist in private practice with over 25 years of experience. Dr. Marien offers training and coaching to mental health and allied healthcare professionals who want to learn mindfulness to enhance their well-being and/or to integrate it into their professional work. She has extensive experience in supervision and training including coordinating a psychology extern training program for over 20 years. She has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of Pennsylvania, Arcadia University, and Villanova University. Dr. Marien is a certified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and certified Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy facilitator. Dr. Marien has been teaching mindfulness individually and in groups for over 12 years and has had a personal meditation practice for over 20 years. She develops and leads mindfulness-based groups, courses, workshops, retreats, and trainings.