Ethics Cultural Competence - Suicide Prevention

Ruth Cassidy, LCSW MDiv, serves as the Suicide Prevention Program Manager and Senior Policy Analyst for the US Navy Office of Force Resilience/OPNAV N17. In this role, she coordinates and advises on the development and implementation of suicide prevention policies, programs, training, analysis, and communication, ensuring compliance with existing policies and DoD Directives. Ruth represents the Navy with DoD, DoN, and other agencies in the development, implementation, quality assurance, and evaluation of Navy-wide Suicide Prevention Programs. Prior to her Navy role, she was the Lead Suicide Prevention Coordinator at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, where she coordinated care and outreach to high-risk veterans, spoke extensively at conferences, and worked clinically with combat and severely injured veterans. Ruth holds a master's in social work and a master of divinity from Baylor University, Waco, Texas, and currently practices Equine Assisted Psychotherapy in trauma-informed care in private practice.

As social workers, we are mandated to be competent in our areas of practice. Unfortunately, almost every client group has the potential to be at high risk for suicide-related behaviors. Whether your area of practice policy, community advocacy, direct practice, or case management with young, old suicide prevention and competency is a must. We will explore the science of hope, assessment, and treatment within the context of prevention, primary prevention, high-risk groups, and the power of postvention.