2022 Lawyer Suicides: Reducing the Risk by Recognizing the Signs

Lawyers have a six-time higher rate of death by suicide than the general population.  But recognizing the signs of undiagnosed, untreated, or ineffectively treated depression and other mental health issues that contribute to death by suicide may help laypersons who are lawyers recognize when a colleague is at an increased or immediate risk of a suicide attempt.  By understanding the signs, learning how to ask the difficult questions of the distressed individual, and knowing how and where to refer the person for immediate care and treatment, individuals may prevent a colleague from making a suicide attempt.  

What you will learn:
•    Understanding the factors that contribute to a suicide attempt.
•    Recognizing signs and symptoms of a suicide risk or suicide crisis.
•    Questions to ask, what to say, and what not to say to the person who may be in a suicide crisis.
•    Resources for those in a suicide crisis, and how to refer someone for help.
•    Additional resources for the individual to become more adept at recognizing a suicide crisis.

Speaker:  Yvette Hourigan, Director, Kentucky Lawyer Assistance Program (KYLAP), Frankfurt, KY