Free Training in Suicide Care: Sign Up Now!

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The Sophie Fund is sponsoring free registration—and free continuing education credits (CEUs)—for healthcare professionals in Tompkins County to attend a two-day online training in suicide prevention featuring some of the nation’s leading experts.

The training program, “Suicide Safer Care in Clinical Practice Incorporating Current Best Practices,” takes place in the afternoons of Wednesday March 19 and Thursday March 20. It is organized by The Wellness Institute, which says the conference designed “to strengthen confidence and competence in providing caring, evidence-based services to clients with suicide risk.”

The training, which covers treating youth suicidality, lethal means counseling, brief interventions, treatment pathways, and other topics, is also sponsored American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, The Jed Foundation, the Education Development Center, Zero Suicide Institute, American Association of Suicidology, and CAMS-care. (See full program, below.)

Free registration and free continuing education credits for physicians, primary care clinicians, health and mental health clinicians, and clinical social workers serving Tompkins County is supported by a grant from The Sophie Fund.

To request a registration code for free registration, healthcare professionals can email The Sophie Fund at thesophiefund2016@gmail.com providing their 1) name, 2) email address, 3) degree level, and 4) place of employment (or name and address of practice, if self-employed).

Scott MacLeod, co-founder of The Sophie Fund, said his organization’s sponsorship of the Wellness Institute program for the fourth year in a row is intended to advance the Zero Suicide Model with healthcare providers. Thus far, The Sophie Fund has provided the free training for 180 clinicians in Tompkins County, including the counseling center staffs of Cornell University and Ithaca College.

Zero Suicide is an emerging standard designed to save lives by closing gaps in the suicide care offered by healthcare providers. The model provides a practical framework for system-wide quality improvement in areas including training staff in current best practices, identifying at-risk individuals through comprehensive screening and assessment, engaging at-risk patients with effective care management, evidence-based treatments, and safe care transition.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Americans aged 10-14 and 25-34. Recently, Tompkins County has averaged 12 suicide deaths per year. Another 1,600 parents, children, siblings, friends, and spouses may be impacted by the resulting psychological, spiritual, and/or financial loss.

An estimated 300 people in Tompkins County may attempt suicide every year. While rates for other causes of death have remained steady or declined, the U.S. suicide rate increased 35.2% from 1999 to 2018.

Suicide Safer Care in Clinical Practice: Incorporating Current Best Practices

Wednesday, March 19, 1-5 p.m.

Understanding Suicide to Prevent Suicide: A Clinical Framework

E. David Klonsky, PhD, Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia

Jill Harkavy-Friedman, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

New-Generation Treatments (CRP, BCBT, etc.)

Craig Bryan, PsyD, ABPP, Trott Gebhardt Philips Endowed Professor and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ohio State University College of Medicine

Assessment, Safety Planning, and Treatment Pathways

Gillian Murphy, PhD, New York-based psychotherapist; former Assistant Deputy Director for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now 988)

Integrating Firearm Safety Discussions in Clinical Practice

Christopher Knoepke, PhD, MSW, LCSW, Research Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Clients with Suicide Bereavement

Noam M. Schneck, PhD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry), Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry and the New York State Psychiatric Institute

Thursday, March 20, 1-5 p.m.

The Human Element: Engaging Suicidal Clients

Jonathan Singer, PhD, LCSW, Professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work

Creating Safe Spaces for Suicidality Disclosure

Lindsay Sheehan, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Associate Director of the Center on Health Equity, Education, and Research, Illinois Institute of Technology

Post-Crisis Reintegration

Marisa Marraccini, PhD, Tarbet Faculty Scholar in Education and an Associate Professor of School Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Education

Adapting Suicide Prevention for Telehealth

Lauren Khazem, PhD, Research Assistant Professor and clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Addressing Substance Use in Suicide Prevention

Christina M. Sellers, PhD, LCSW, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Innovation in Behavioral Health Education and Research, School of Social Work, Simmons University

Sleep-Focused Approaches to Youth Suicide Prevention

Sally Weinstein, PhD, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Associate Director of the Center on Depression and Resilience, University of Illinois College of Medicine

Ask the Experts: What Works in Suicide Care (Q&A Session)

David Jobes, PhD, ABPP, Professor of Psychology and Associate Director of Clinical Training, Catholic University of America; Creator and Developer, Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS)

David A. Brent, MD, academic chief of child and adolescent psychiatry, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital

Jill Harkavy-Friedman, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Learning Objectives:

Describe a model for understanding suicide and list factors that contribute to increased suicide risk.

Discuss how clinicians can engage in suicide prevention in their clinical practice.

Describe the suicidal mode and identify the mechanisms targeted by newly developed treatments in suicide prevention.

Identify core principles that can guide the suicide assessment process and brief interventions to implement to maintain client safety.

Articulate the role of firearms in suicide and how to integrate firearm safety conversations into suicide prevention efforts.

Explain the unique emotions that typify suicide bereavement and an approach to facilitate emotional acceptance.

Identify suicide-focused care models that fit a clinician’s clinical approach best and ways they can utilize their emotional reactions while working with suicidal individuals.

Describe client perspectives on disclosure of suicidality and strategies to increase comfort in disclosure.

Explain considerations for supporting students returning to school following suicide-related crises and how best practices for student reintegration may be generalized for community reintegration of individuals in all life stages.

Identify telehealth adaptations of suicide prevention strategies and how they may be implemented. (Describe imminent suicide risk assessment and responses.)

Explain the relationship between substance use and suicide and how substance use is a risk factor for suicide.

Describe developmental changes in sleep in adolescence, how to assess sleep quality in youth, and intervention strategies to improve sleep in adolescents that may be relevant for suicide prevention.

Demonstrate how to ask a client if they are experiencing suicidal thoughts, incorporate one new practice for suicide prevention, and develop a practice plan to put in effect when a person states they have been thinking about suicide.

Supporting Mental Health in Tompkins County Schools

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Five Ithaca-based mental health organizations have launched a new resources guide, “Mental Health Support & Suicide Prevention for Schools in Tompkins County.”

Our kids are telling us: “We are struggling with mental health.” From the Covid-19 disruptions, academic pressures, and addictive social media to navigating adolescence in a time of political and economic uncertainty, it is a tough time for many to be young in America.

DOWNLOAD: Mental Health Support & Suicide Prevention for Schools in Tompkins County

National and local surveys of school students reflect the seriousness of the crisis. In a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 percent of high schoolers said they experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Twenty-nine percent reported poor mental health, and 20 percent said they had considered taking their own lives.

A survey of high school and middle school students in Tompkins County came up with similar patterns. Forty-seven percent said they felt anxious or worried on most days, 35 percent felt sad or depressed on most days, and 34 percent said that “sometimes I think life is not worth it.”

Such data prompt a call to action, to intensify our efforts to safeguard the mental well-being of children growing up in our precarious digital age.

In that spirit, the new resources guide was created by the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Greater Central New York, National Alliance on Mental Illness Finger Lakes, Mental Health Association in Tompkins County, and The Sophie Fund.

“Mental health and well-being start with our youth. At a young age, understanding warning signs and developing coping skills can provide a foundation for supportive strategies to be carried into adulthood. Talking about suicide is how we start supporting our young people,” said Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service.

“Gaining an educated understanding of how to have conversations around crisis and suicide can save lives. Dedicating a matter of hours could save a youth’s life. We need to invest the time. We offer a variety of suicide prevention trainings and workshops at no cost to those who want to learn more.”

After providing a brief “Mental Health and Suicide 101” introduction, the resources guide details the education and training that the local organizations are ready to present to Tompkins school administrators, teachers, students, and parents.

If you have a comment, concern, or suggestion about mental health in Tompkins schools, please feel free to email it to The Sophie Fund: thesophiefund2016@gmail.com.

The resources guide compiles handbooks and toolkits to assist Tompkins schools in developing mental health promotion and bullying prevention programming as well as suicide prevention strategies in their school communities. The guide points to recommendations for youth use of social media issued by the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association.

The organizations launched the resources guide in last September during Suicide Prevention Month and immediately distributed copies to the superintendents of the seven school districts in Tompkins County.

At the same time, the organizations requested an opportunity to meet directly with the superintendents and their leadership teams to provide a presentation on the support services available and respond to any concerns or questions they may have.

Tompkins school districts include Ithaca City School District; Lansing Central School District; Trumansburg Center School District; Newfield Central School District; Groton Central School District; Dryden Central School District; and TST BOCES. (As of late January 2025, three school districts had responded positively to the request.)

If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.

Hochul: Restrict Smartphone Use in New York State Schools

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Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed legislation to restrict smartphone use in K-12 schools throughout New York State, saying the measure would advance distraction-free education for the benefit of students and their mental health.

Governor Kathy Hochul launches smartphone-restriction initiative

Under the proposal, use of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices would be prohibited on school grounds for the entire school day, including classroom time and other settings like lunch and study hall periods.

Students would still be authorized to have access to simple cell phones without internet capability, as well as internet-enabled devices officially provided by their school for classroom instruction, such as laptops or tablets used as part of lesson plans, Hochul said.

Additionally, the proposal notes several exemptions to the smartphone restrictions, such as for students who require access to an internet-enabled device to manage a medical condition, where required by a student’s Individualized Education Program, or for other academic purposes like translation. Schools must give parents a way to contact their kids during the day if needed, according to the proposal.

The restrictions would begin with the 2025-26 school year and would apply to all schools in public school districts, as well as charter schools and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).

Schools would be required to develop their own plans for storing smartphones during the day, giving administrators and teachers the flexibility to do what works best for their buildings and students. Hochul’s proposal includes $13.5 million in funding to help schools that need help purchasing smartphone storage solutions.

In announcing the proposal, Hochul released a report, “More Learning, Less Scrolling: Creating Distraction-Free Schools,” with recommendations gathered from a statewide listening tour with students, parents and teachers regarding excessive smartphone use in schools.

The report said that smartphones distract students and inhibit learning and creativity, and that phone-free school environments support the mental health of students and teachers without compromising student safety. The report said that an effective distraction-free policy must  restrict phone for the entire school day and not solely during classroom times.  Schools can strengthen their distraction-free environment by connecting more students with in-person engagement like clubs, sports, arts and other programming, the report added.

Hochul launched her smartphone restriction push at an event held Wednesday at Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland, NY. Farnsworth initiated a smartphone ban at the beginning of the school year. Hochul was joined by New York State United Teachers President Melinda Person, New York State Parent Teacher Association Vice President and parent Roberto Rijos, Farnsworth Middle School student Anika Bhupati, New York State Police Superintendent Steven James, NAACP New York City Chapter President Anthony Harmon, State Senator Patricia Fahy, and Farnsworth school leaders.

“All across America, war is being waged for our children’s minds. It is that profound. Kids are being deceived with addictive algorithms, toxic social media. Cell phones can be so manipulative. It becomes addictive, like a drug. These young people, and I’ve heard them, they’re calling for help,” Hochul said.

“As the adults in the room, the policymakers, it’s our job to pick up that call. I believe we will be judged harshly if we don’t look at the data that is so overwhelming of the negative impact of social media and cell phones on children’s developmental abilities to function not only as kids but as adults. And how so many times social media platforms have had a profoundly negative impact on our children’s mental health, especially the young girls who are contemplating suicide and screening for depression at higher rates than ever before. There’s something going on here. We can no longer turn a blind eye to it.”

Farnsworth Middle School, Guilderland, NY

Hochul framed her proposal as part of her ongoing commitment to protecting youth mental health and promoting student success in the digital age. Last year, she signed a first-in-the-nation law to restrict addictive social media feeds for minors.

In Ithaca, Hochul’s proposal drew support from Mayor Robert Cantelmo and The Sophie Fund.

 “We have seen time and again that we cannot rely on tech companies to prioritize our children over their bottom line. Governor Hochul is taking a firm stance to put learning and our educational environments first by empowering administrators to keep addictive cellphone use out of the classroom. I am grateful to see the Governor pair this initiative with $13.5 million in proposed funding to facilitate its implementation,” Cantelmo said.

Co-founder Scott MacLeod said that The Sophie Fund is grateful for the governor’s robust efforts to address the mental health challenges facing young people.

“The governor’s initiative to restrict the use of smartphones in schools is a critical step in keeping our kids focused on classwork and safer from the harms associated with digital overload in today’s youth culture. We know that addictive scrolling and interactions on social media correlate with depression, anxiety, loneliness, cyberbullying, and even suicidal ideation,” he said.

“Beyond appreciating its envisioned day-to-day practical impact, we welcome Governor Hochul’s proposal as a call to action for parents, school personnel, and all youth-serving professionals to intensify the work of safeguarding the mental wellbeing of children growing up in our precarious digital age.”

Meet Ithaca’s Mental Health Champions

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Mental health leaders in Tompkins County provided information about community services during The Sophie Fund’s 9th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest on October 19.

Participating organizations included: Be Kind Ithaca; Free Hugs Ithaca; American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Greater Central New York; Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service; Mental Health Association in Tompkins County; National Alliance on Mental Illness Finger Lakes; Advocacy Center of Tompkins County; Ithaca Free Clinic; and Tompkins County Bullying Prevention Task Force.

Ithaca Free Clinic’s Norbert McCloskey briefs Cornell students about his agency’s work

Speaking at the Awards Ceremony, Norbert McCloskey, executive director of the Ithaca Free Clinic, which provides healthcare to individuals regardless of ability to pay, expressed gratitude for the support the agency receives from the community.

“I have had the honor for number of years now to work with an organization that does all that it can to make sure that people can access the healthcare that they need. We’re able to do that because all of our services are provided by community volunteers—everyone from MDs all the way down to the kind lady who comes in once a week and waters our plants,” McCloskey said.

Ithaca Free Clinic

McCloskey noted the connection between healthcare and mental health.

“Nothing really creates anxiety in the life of an individual than being ill and not being able to see a doctor, not being able to get the care that they need. Whether that care is primary family practice care, or acupuncture, or herbalism, or chiropractic, or occupational therapy, or seeing an optometrist to get the  eyewear that they need in order to live a full and productive life.

“You probably wouldn’t be surprised to know that a significant number of people who come to our doors do suffer from a variety of mental health conditions. We are able to help them recognize that, and then steer them toward this vast array of organizations that we have  in our community to get help that they need to live full, productive, happy, and joyful lives.”

Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County, said that her agency has been able to expand its services beyond its role as a local call center for the national 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline.

Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County

She told the Awards Ceremony audience that SPCS now handles calls from 16 other New York State counties in addition to Tompkins County. She said her agency also launched a 24-hour “warm line” for people who are not in crisis yet need a person to talk to, as well as a 24-hour LGBTQ peer support line.

“It is so incredibly necessary. We need to have everyone talking about mental health all the time,” she said.

Bloss pointed people to SPCS’s newly redesigned website, “an incredible resource for mental health.”

“We really just want to get the word out and get people talking about mental health and suicide. Make it not a scary topic. We need to look at it like we look at our physical health,” she said.

Tompkins County Bullying Prevention Task Force

Mental Health Association in Tompkins County

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention — Greater Central New York

National Alliance on Mental Illness — Finger Lakes

Advocacy Center of Tompkins County

Be Kind Ithaca & Free Hugs Ithaca

Rocking Mental Health Awareness

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The Sophie Fund expresses its gratitude to the musicians who performed at the 9th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest on October 19: SingTrece & Kenneth McLaurin, Rachel Beverly, and Joe Gibson & Dan Collins. Thank you for always lending your voices to the mental health mission in our community!

SingTrece and Kenneth McLaurin

Rachel Beverly

Dan Collins and Joe Gibson