The National Partnership for Community Training recently presented a webinar which is now archived online: Suicidality Among Refugees: Program Approaches and Community Responses
Suicidality, including suicidal ideation and completion, is a continuing concern among refugee populations and resettlement workers. This webinar takes a fresh approach to the topic by offering a wide range of perspectives. Beginning with an investigative research project, Sharmila Shetty with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines the research conducted on Bhutanese refugee completed suicides. She provides recommendations to all refugee resettlement stakeholders and those initiatives implemented since her research was completed. Psychiatrist Chhabilal Sharma provides a clinical overview of Bhutanese refugees, insight into their perception of mental health, and how religion affects suicidality. Finally, Henny Ohr elaborates on the grassroots organization, Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center, and its holistic approach to suicidality through various refugee-led programs.
Resources:
Suicide Precaution: This Information Guide provides practical steps any direct service personnel can implement when interacting with a client who is exhibiting suicidal ideation. Included in this guide is how to create a safety plan, how to ask appropriate questions, and how to incorporate preventative components into programming, such as cultural orientation.
Addressing Mental Health, PTSD, and Suicide in Refugee Communities: This webinar discusses the clinical definitions, cultural considerations, and best practice therapy modalities for refugees experiencing various mental health concerns, including suicidality. It illustrates the importance of community-led interventions and gatekeeper trainings.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA): This training is a course that provides foundational knowledge of common mental health disorders, how symptoms of those disorders manifest in others, and step by step instructions for different emergency mental health situations. This training is being offered through the Office of Refugee Resettlement to refugee community members and refugee resettlement workers. It is an 8-hour mental health education that includes suicide prevention and intervention. Contact your state refugee coordinator to discuss upcoming opportunities.
Additionally, here are some articles, webinars, and factsheets providing further information on suicide and suicide prevention:
Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC)
Suicide Among Resettled Refugees Webinar
After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools
Preventing Youth Suicide
Adapting QPR Training to Incorporate Refugee Experiences Webinar
An investigation into Suicides among Bhutanese Refugees in the US
Refugee Suicide Prevention Training Toolkit
Strengthening Case Management: Case Management and the Suicidal Client Webinar
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
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